By Ryan Clark
NKyTribune reporter
Covington Commissioners agreed Tuesday to purchase properties at 620 and 622 Scott Streets, which are currently owned by the Gateway Community & Technical College Foundation, Inc., for $550,000 in hopes of eventually building a new City Hall on the site.
The Commissioners came to the decision to purchase during their regularly scheduled legislative meeting Tuesday night. Unfortunately, the online streaming feed for the broadcast experienced technical difficulties and was unable to provide a live show.
But Dan Hassert, communications manager for the city, was able to provide comments and the results of the night’s decisions.
Vacant lots at 620-622 Scott Street in Covington, adjacent to Lee’s Fried Chicken.
Originally, the Scott Street sites were going to be home to Gateway’s urban education campus, but new owners and leadership decided against that idea.
Last week, city officials would not say why they were interested in the sites, but the idea of finding a permanent new home for the city has been seriously discussed for at least the past three years.
In 2018, Commissioners voted unanimously to enter into a contract of up to $20,000 with YARD & Company, a Bellevue-based urban growth firm, to investigate what a new City Hall should represent for Covington.
“It’ll be nice to have a permanent home,” Mayor Joseph U. Meyer said Tuesday night.
New City Clerk hired
Susan Ellis was approved to be hired as the new city clerk.
The city received 110 applications from its local, state and national recruitment effort, and staff considered 14 candidates for the position.
“The person we have recommended is, I believe, a great fit — and will be an asset to the team,” City Solicitor Michael Bartlett said last week.
Public Works projects approved
Three Public Works projects were approved Tuesday night:
• An agreement with Riegler Blacktop, Inc., for fiscal year 2021-22 with CDBG & Capital Street Resurfacing for about $550,000,
• An agreement with Charter/Spectrum to complete the repairs for the 6th & Scott Streetscape project for $34,373.50,
• An agreement to hire Third Rock Consultants to provide environmental consulting services associated with the MS4 Permit Support Phase I Program Development for $65,000.
$37 million in federal money guidelines arrive
Last week, Commissioner Ron Washington noted in his post-meeting comments that he’d heard from many residents who wondered what would be done with an estimated $37 million in federal funding promised to the area as part of stimulus recovery.
City Manager David Johnston said then that the city was waiting for guidance from the U.S. Treasury Department. Tuesday, Johnston said the city had received the guidelines at the beginning of the week and were working through them.
Washington said last week that he just wanted to make sure there was “good policy, and good discussion” over how to implement the funds.
Duplex payments
Mayor Meyer brought up an issue that has occurred since the city’s takeover of the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System.
Apparently, owners of duplexes have been charged twice for their property. Mayor Meyer asked the City Manager for a new ordinance that would only have them charged once, with reimbursements for the previous charges.
A new ordinance will have to go through two readings and a vote, which would take a month. Then the city would have to go through the previous charges before any reimbursements could be made.
The Mayor asked for patience from those affected.
Next meeting
The next regularly scheduled Covington Commission meeting will be a caucus meeting held at 6 p.m., May 18, at the City Building at 20 W. Pike St. in Covington. The meetings can be followed live on Fioptics channel 815, Spectrum channel 203, the Telecommunications Board of Northern Kentucky (TBNK) website, the TBNK Facebook page @TBNKonline, and the TBNK Roku channels.
