By Ryan Clark
NKyTribune reporter
Fast-food lovers. Old-time pugilists. And … Covington Commissioners?
Yes, sometimes even they need a good combination.
It happened Tuesday when the Commission gathered for a caucus meeting, which they were actually holding to make up for last week’s meeting, which was canceled because they didn’t have enough people.
Former Two Rivers school in downtown Covington
This week, the group decided to combine their meetings from the past two weeks, a caucus and a legislative in one. See — another good combination.
It provided a couple of hours of interesting developments.
At the top of the list, Commissioners were pleased to enter into an agreement with DeanHouston+ Inc., where the city will offer a 1.15 percent payroll tax incentive over five years, with a five-year retention period.
DeanHouston+ Inc., an Integrated Branded and Marketing firm with offices in Chicago, Nashville, Los Angeles and China, will be moving its world headquarters from Cincinnati to Covington, bringing 40 jobs and the promise of 16 more over the first three years.
Tom West, the city’s economic development director, said that even with the payroll tax incentive, the city is set to make $840,000 in new payroll tax over the next decade.
The company will be settling in the old Two Rivers Middle School building at 525 Scott St. But they’ll only be using about 12,000 square feet of space. The building is currently being renovated and will be able to offer more office space for other possible tenants.
Two years ago, a study noted that the city should create more Class A office space, which is exactly what is being done.
“If we put product on the shelf, people will buy it,” West said.
City tables AFSCME contract
After what Mayor Joseph U. Meyer called a “mismanagement” of contract negotiations, the city tabled its latest proposed contract with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
The latest incarnation of the contract featured $1.2 million in stipends that are to be paid by the American Rescue Plan Act. However, city officials are not certain whether the Act will actually cover the cost, or whether the city could afford this price tag.
Again, according to Mayor Meyer, the contract should never have gotten this far.
“This mismanagement should not have happened,” he said, calling it a “serious error.”
“I also apologize to the city of Covington,” he continued. “This kind of mismanagement should not have occurred.”
Meyer said the city will return to the bargaining table and will be much more involved in the negotiation process.
Extension of Riverfront Commons
Commissioners agreed to an order approving Prus Construction Company for the construction of new sidewalk and shared use trail along Highway Avenue (KY 8) from Swain Court to the existing Riverfront Commons Trail.
In August, the state reviewed the bid and approved Prus. The state will pay 80 percent of the project cost of $776,091.60, and the city will pay 20 percent, or $194,022.90 from the Capital Improvement budget.
Part-time Parking Authority Executive Director
Commissioners unanimously approved an ordinance for the Parking Authority to be able to set a salary for a part-time Executive Director. The city would like to transition power from the current Executive Director, which is the City Manager, but in order to do so, they must first be able to pay a candidate.
Of course, the salary would ultimately be approved by the City Commission, which signs off on the Parking Authority budget.
Façade Incentives
Commissioners also agreed to façade incentives for:
• Tippcork-Rooksey LLC — $4,075 at 106 E. Fourth St.
• Juan Hiraldo Calderon and Rachel Hiraldo — $6,000 at 613 Main St.
• Main Street Medical, LLC — $4,300 at 924 Main St.
• Kathleen Jones — $6,000 at 120 W. Fifth St.
Next Meeting
The next regularly scheduled Covington Commission meeting will be a caucus meeting held at 6 p.m., Oct. 5, 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.
