By Ryan Clark
NKyTribune reporter
Last December, the city used American Rescue Plan Act funds to create “buckets,” or categories where the funding would best be utilized.
Now those buckets are getting filled.
The latest is the ARPA-funded Mortgage Assistance Program plan, which calls for $500,000 to be used to help potential homebuyers buy down mortgage interest rates, or pay down payment and closing costs associated with the purchase of owner-occupied or vacant homes in eligible Qualified Census Tracts, or QCTs.
ARPA funds were always allocated for homebuyer assistance — now, city staffers think they’ve come up with a good way to help. If approved, ARPA Mortgage Assistance would be a grant of up to $15,000 to assist families with a home purchase, with an expense cap of $350,000.
City officials said at the Covington Commission meeting this week that the program will be run in a similar manner as HOME down payment assistance and CDBG home repair programs. The purpose is to increase the number of homeowners in the QCTs, which are defined as census tracts in the city where 51 percent of the population earns 65 percent or less of the Area Median Income.
According to the city, qualifications include:
• Income: There are no income limits for homeowners participating in the Program.
• Credit: There are no credit score requirements for the Program. Borrowers credit will be reviewed by their lender in order to obtain mortgage financing.
• Loan Underwriting: The Program does not have specific loan underwriting requirements. The city will review the terms of the borrower’s mortgage financing to ensure that the loan is not predatory in nature. Mortgage interest rates and fees will be reviewed and compared to current industry standards.
Interested buyers will then apply online here: https://portal.neighborlysoftware.com/COVINGTONKY/participant
Mayor Joseph U. Meyer wondered if $15,000 was enough, given today’s high costs.
“We looked at that, I mean there’s no magic number for that because it’s obviously it’s based on the purchase price,” said Jeremy Wallace, Community Development Manager. “But most of the lenders, especially if you’re buying in those areas, should have a 3 or 5 percent down payment product, so if we’re basing it on an average sales price of — whatever the case may be — $100,000 to $350,000, should be able to buy down the rate a couple points. A point is 1 percent of the purchase price of the loan amount, so you could buy the rate down a couple of points, which will get the rate down maybe a whole interest rate possibly. We’ll try to maximize getting that rate down as much as possible, but if we can buy a few points down and then the rest can go to down payment and closing costs, that should be enough to get in those price ranges.”
The proposal was placed on the next meeting’s consent agenda.
Heritage Trades Program
Commissioners were asked to approve a sub-recipient agreement with the Building Industry Association of Northern Kentucky for tuition and expenses, as well as building stabilization expenses, associated with 1515 Madison Ave. — which will be used as a working lab for the Covington Academy of Heritage Trades.
Previously, the city set aside $250,000 of ARPA funds to support the development of the new Covington Academy of Heritage Trades. As a sub-recipient, the Building Industry of Northern Kentucky will deploy funds to stabilize the building and to cover the cost of tuition and supplies for those Covington residents who enroll in the workforce training program.
Commissioners placed this request on the next meeting’s consent agenda.
Gateway Work
Commissioners heard a request for $69,500 for a contract with Emersion Design LLC to provide a design for the Covington Gateway at the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge.
In 2019, the city’s Economic Development Department hired Garner Economics to complete a Strategic Plan, and one of the recommendations was to improve Gateways into the city, which would include new signage, landscaping and beautification initiatives.
The city then sought input from the community, in part to decide which gateways were most important. Two stood out from the rest — and the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge was one.
Emersion Design’s submission was chosen as the winning bid. The Design process will be completed within four months and 50 percent each of the funding will come from the General Fund and the Economic Development Fund.
Commissioners placed the request on consent for the next meeting.
Text Amendment for Kennels
Commissioners heard a proposal to amend the Neighborhood Development Code to add kennels as a conditional use to Limited Industrial Districts.
The Limited Industrial (LI) district of the Neighborhood Development Code was developed for “low to moderate-impact warehousing, wholesaling, and manufacturing uses,” city documents say. “This district covers many areas adjacent to the railway in Covington. The recommended text amendment would allow kennel uses that receive a Conditional Use Permit to operate within this district because they are suited to large-format buildings associated with this district.”
Commissioners placed the request on the next meeting’s consent agenda.
Port Authority Camera Grant
The Covington Police Department was approved to receive a $157,180 grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Port Security Grant Program. But this will require a match from the city ($52,393), which is a budgeted expenditure.
The funds will be used to expand the Riverfront Commons Camera Program to the west, “from Madison Landing to just east of the existing Brent Spence Bridge,” city plans say. “This will add an additional 18 cameras along Covington’s Riverfront Commons Hiking and biking trail.”
The request was placed on the next meeting’s consent agenda.
iPad Technology Pilot Program
Commissioners heard a proposal for the approval of ARPA funds to be used in a contract with Covington Independent Public School District to carry out a pilot program with J.E.
Biggs families that “introduces and measures the impact of city-provided iPads and early literacy applications upon kindergarten readiness of the participating children,” city documents say.
The program will utilize $73,334 for Read Ready Covington’s “iPad technology pilot program,” for the Covington Independent Public School District to use for up to three consecutive school years. The project will monitor the impact that city-provided iPads and early literacy applications have on two classes of 4-year-olds and their families at J. E. Biggs Preschool.
The school district will provide technical and instructional support and the program will begin immediately after the technology arrives.
Commissioners put the proposal on the next meeting’s consent agenda.
Promotion
Commissioners heard the proposed promotion of:
• James Johnson, stormwater maintenance worker
Hirings
Commissioners heard the proposed hiring of:
• Joseph Meimann, Code Enforcement Manager
• Allyson Schaeffer, Code Enforcement Inspector
• Hillary Williams, Recreation Program Coordinator
Resignations
Commissioners heard the proposed resignations of:
• Angela Umbarger, Tax Auditor
• Devyn Harris, Police Officer
Re-Appointments
Commissioners heard proposals for the re-appointments of:
• Pamela Mullins, Human Rights Commission
• Omar Gray, Code Enforcement Hearing Board
• Rebecca Weber, Board of Architectural Review and Development
• Matthew Roetting, Audit Committee
And the appointments of:
• Sheree Weichold, Alcoholic Beverage Control Administrator
• Kathleen Summe, Board of Overseers for Linden Grove Cemetery
No meeting next week
There will be no meeting next week due to Election Day.
Next Meeting
The next regularly scheduled Covington Commission meeting will be a legislative meeting held at 6 p.m., Nov. 15, 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.
