A nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

Commission completes police promotions, hires ARPA project lawyer, approves Wolf Road agreement


By Ryan Clark
NKyTribune reporter

It began with the retirement of Chief Rob Nader, but now it seems like the game of Police Musical Chairs has ended.

Four police promotions were approved at Tuesday night’s regularly scheduled legislative meeting, bringing an end to what was a lengthy process that began when the chief retired in August.

The promotions are as follows:

• Police Department Capt. Marcus Jordan to Lt. Col. (Assistant Chief)
• Police Department Lt. Robert Rose to Captain
• Police Department Sgt. Justin Bradbury to Lieutenant
• Police Department Lt. and Specialist Aaron Ashley to Sergeant

It says something about the talent and trust of those in the department, Mayor Joseph U. Meyer said, that when someone leaves, everyone else can move up — and excellence is not only hoped for, it is expected.

“Thank you for sticking it out and thank you for protecting our citizens and our guests,” Meyer said.

“Let me join in and say that Covington has been blessed with extraordinary leadership for our Police Department for many, many years. And each time there’s a transition, another talented person is in a position to step up and assume those leadership positions. Again, we’re seeing this today where we have highly qualified person after highly qualified person taking another step up the chain of command, so that the result is a continuation of excellence in leadership for the Covington Police Department.”

Lawyer Hired for Property Reinvestment Program

The Law Office of Jerry N. Higgins, PLLC, was hired by Commissioners to provide legal services for the Neighborhood Services Property Reinvestment Program, or ARPA Project 19.0.

After Neighborhood Services and the Legal Department issued an RFP seeking an attorney or law firm to provide legal services needed for acquisition of properties for the program, it was announced last week that only one proposal was received.

However, the selection committee reviewed and believes the Law Office of Jerry N. Higgins is “qualified to provide the services needed and has proposed to do so at a fair price, below what is presumed reasonable for similar services under Kentucky law,” city documents say. “The firm has significant experience and established processes in place to provide the services needed with speed and efficiency.”

The services, according to the city, would cost “up to $500,000,” and would be finished by the end of 2026.

Wolf Road Agreement

Commissioners approved an agreement with the state, county and city of Taylor Mill, where the cities will share minor maintenance (potholes, snow, signage, weeds, litter, etc.) of Wolf Road.

For instance, specifically for snow, Covington provides the salt and materials, while Taylor Mill actually provides the trucks and does the plowing.

Taylor Mill could make some future tweaks, however, City Manager Ken Smith said.

“I do have reason to believe that Taylor Mill may have some minor edits to this but because of the long path to getting here I would request that the Commission approve this tonight and if there’s some minor edit to it as a result of Taylor Mills’ consideration, that we would bring that back to the Commission amended — if we agree with whatever amendments they might have,” Smith said.

Full-time IT Position

Commissioners approved the utilizing of ARPA funds to hire a second part-time IT specialist, to instead promote Brittany Honacker, who previously held a part-time position, to full-time.

Honacker started her job at the city back in March and has won over staff with her knowledge and skill, officials said. It was specifically noted how she has been helpful with Covington Connect (the city’s program to expand access to free public Wi-Fi throughout the city).

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


Promotion

Commissioners also approved the promotion of:
• Eric Bowling to Staff Accountant

Hirings

Commissioners approved the hirings of:
• Staff Accountant Craig Farley
• Assistant Neighborhood Services Director Walt Mace

Resignations

Commissioners approved the resignations of:
• Staff Accountant Gary Johnson
• Clerk Typist Candice McAllister
• Police recruit Trent Webster
• Police Officer Corey Warner
• Stormwater Maintenance Specialist Daniel Peters
• Neighborhood Services Program Coordinator Tyler Wilson

Two vehicles

Commissioners approved an order for the purchase of two 2023 Ford Escapes for the replacement of two Devou Park Ranger vehicles, at a cost of $29,295 apiece, or a total of $58,590.

Disc golf is here

Mayor Meyer and Commissioner Ron Washington noted they were able to throw the first discs this weekend for the city’s new disc golf course.

“Since we threw the disc I have found out that there has been 500 rounds played since Saturday so it’s a big hit in our city,” Washington said. “I want to commend, also, the many volunteers that did the course and also want to commend our staff for working so diligently to make this happen. This appears to be a very popular sport and I’m glad that it’s happening here in our city. There’s rumors of maybe even a professional tournament coming in the next year or two.”

“It’s really a great thing to see this sort of investment in activity and growth that’s going on in the city,” Meyer said.

Williams absent

Commissioner Michelle Williams was absent Tuesday night.

Next Meeting

The next regularly scheduled Covington Commission meeting will be a caucus meeting held at 6 p.m., Oct. 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.


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