A nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

Covington commissioners hear, debate two IRS site contracts at caucus meeting; parks/rec master plan


By Ryan Clark
NKyTribune reporter

Covington Commissioners heard two possible contracts for the development of the IRS site Tuesday night at their regularly scheduled caucus meeting.

But whether or not the city moves forward with the contracts is still up in the air.

City Manager David Johnston recommended one contract — a demolition and environmental remediation project — be awarded to O’Rourke Wrecking Co. for $1,447,000, while the other — a design of a parking structure, along with its horizontal infrastructure — to be awarded to KZF Design for just over $2 million.

Both projects would be scheduled for completion by Feb. 28, 2022.

But commissioners were not satisfied with the contracts, nor with the attorney who was brought in to vouch for them. Because other staff were busy and on vacation, the city contracted out the duties to oversee the demolition contract, and that attorney was available for only a portion of Tuesday’s meeting — and had to leave before the topic came up — due to other commitments.

It left commissioners with unanswered questions, the biggest of which came from Mayor Joseph U. Meyer, who wondered why there hadn’t yet been some entity hired as a manager to oversee the entire IRS project.

“No project is more significant,” he said. “We only get one bite of the apple to do it right.”

Commissioner Shannon Smith, who is a lawyer, as well as Meyer himself, noted how the contract looked simple, and that normally, these types of agreements greatly favor the companies (not the cities involved).

Meyer made it clear this time around: The city wants a professional entity to manage the IRS site project. That person, or people, can then decide what are the priorities necessary for moving forward.

Both contracts were placed on the regular agenda for next week’s legislative meeting, meaning they will be further debated before any action will be taken.

Parks and Recreation Master Plan proposed

Commissioners heard a proposed order to approve the acceptance and adoption of a Parks and Recreation Master Plan, which was created by Brandstetter-Carroll in 2019 and 2020.

Throughout those years, the consultants conducted community engagement events, consulted professionals and created the plan, which provides information on the future direction needed for the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.

“It incorporates upgraded facilities, amenities, programming and the creation of publicly-desired new facilities,” Brandstetter-Carroll representatives reported. “All of which encapsulate the city of Covington’s vision and mission, and paints a picture of the changes that need to be made to better serve the citizens of Covington.”

“A lot of work has gone into it,” said city Parks and Recreation Director Ben Oldiges. “From staff, outside organizations … the community in general.”

Representatives from the city, as well as Brandstetter-Carroll, noted that the city has previously drafted a Parks and Rec Master Plan in 2008, but not since.

The point of the plan? To incorporate into one document how the city could improve on its offerings to the public, in terms of facilities, amenities and properties. Included are the department’s mission, vision, values, goals and broad recommendations.

Goals include:

Inspire public space
Inspire stewardship
Inspire play
Inspire investment

The strategic plan:


Vision: Creating inspired spaced for moments of joy
Mission: Connecting and energizing our community through nature, wellness and play
Values: Connecting communities. Fostering inclusion. Encouraging fun. Promoting wellness.

Broad recommendations include, among other items:


Improve maintenance at existing parks areas
Add support features throughout park system
Replaced outdated, deteriorated playgrounds
Perform ADA accessibility assessment
Develop multiple dog parks
Partner with health care providers to promote healthy lifestyles
More outdoor movies, concerts and special events

Mayor Meyer made sure to note that these are only recommendations, and that there needs to be prioritization to what the city can afford to do.

“We appreciate the hard work and depth of discussion that goes into this,” he said.

However, he and the commissioners noted there should be some language changes made to the document. For one example, there are no references to soccer fields. With the increased interest in the sport throughout the area, commissioners felt there should be an emphasis on it.

Oldiges noted that his office could reach out to schools, as well as area youth — especially those in the Hispanic population — to explore their interests and add to the report before it is approved.

Neighborhood Services Director Ken Smith said the city is currently scouting locations for the city Dog Park, and he said he expects it to be finished by winter.

Ultimately, the city decided to add more to the document before it is presented to commission in the future.

Property sale recommended

Commissioners heard a request to declare city-owned real estate located at 310 W 18th St., as vacant, surplus property and transfer ownership to John and Connie Bowman, Ronald and Sharon Oehlman and Anthony Findley.

The city acquired the property in 1931. The city says it has remained vacant and does not contribute to economic, social or aesthetic value of the neighborhood.

A Kentucky-certified appraiser valued the property at $6,500, and the city is recommending it be divided into three parcels and each sold to the neighbors:

Parcel A (approx. 677 sq. ft) to John and Connie Bowman for $745
Parcel B (approx. 667 sq. ft) to Ronald and Sharon Oehlmann for $765 and
Parcel C (approx. 4,456 sq. ft) to Anthony Findley for $4,990

The proposal was placed on next week’s consent agenda.

Police hires proposed

Chief Robert Nader requested approval to hire three new police officers and a cadet:

Hire – Police Officer Applicant Ryan Brown
Hire – Police Officer Applicant Nicholas Hancock
Hire – Police Officer Applicant Cody Monson
Hire – Police Cadet Applicant Noah Tuke

The hires were scheduled for next week’s consent agenda.

Wi-Fi Zone signage

Commissioners heard a request for the creation and installation of Covington Connect free Wi-Fi zone signage, in an amount not to exceed $6,500.

“The installed signage will provide notification to the public that the area is covered by the Covington Connect Wi-Fi program, identify the appropriate SSID for login purposes, and have a location for sponsorship recognition,” city documents say.

The request was put on next week’s consent agenda.


Next meeting

The next regularly scheduled Covington Commission meeting will be a legislative meeting held at 6 p.m., May 25, 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.


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