Can the heroin crisis gripping the Northern Kentucky region be turned into an economic development opportunity?
Covington City Commission candidate Christi Blair thinks so. By capitalizing on the widespread use of heroin, the city could attract doctors and medical businesses, she said.
“We could make this a place you would come to get help,” Blair said. “Let’s market it to the health care professionals.”
Blair, who lost her bid for the commission in 2014, is one of seven candidates vying for four seats on the Covington City Commission. Six of them appeared at the second joint event of the fall campaign season, a forum co-hosted by the Covington Business Council and the Latonia Business Association, held Thursday at the Madison Event Center downtown.
WKRC-TV personality Dan Hurley moderated the forum and posed the question to the panel about how Covington could continue its momentum in the wake of the heroin crisis.
Michelle Williams, looking to be returned to the city commission after losing her seat in 2014, said the city needs to implement a needle exchange program. “We have a program that we need to implement. We need to implement the needle exchange immediately,” Williams said. The City of Covington Board of Commissioners approved a syringe access/needle exchange program along with the Kenton County Fiscal Court – on the condition that one or both of the neighboring counties and a city within them do the same. So far, Boone County and Campbell County have not joined Covington and Kenton. “I feel that that’s something we need to address and focus on and stop waiting because our residents need this.”
First-time candidate John Flesch suggested the creation of a “rapid regional response team” to the heroin crisis, and deploying “lower-level” emergency responders rather than paramedics to cut down on costs. Fellow first-timer Stuart Warren said that the city should emphasize the redevelopment or better use of the hundreds of vacant properties it manages so that they become less available to drug users.
Those candidates joined incumbents Jordan Huizenga and Bill Wells who are seeking reelection. At least two seats will be available to new commissioners as both Chuck Eilerman and Steve Frank have decided not to run again. First-time candidate Tim Downing, who finished a strong fourth in the May primary and spoke confidently at the Wallace Woods Corn Roast last month, was not able to attend Thursday’s event.
In office, the candidates would seek to develop the riverfront and prepare to respond to the loss of 1,600 jobs at the IRS processing center on Fourth Street which the federal government announced would be closed in 2019.
“The riverfront was a major development source that we are not tapping into,” said Williams, who also noted that she is now a student at Sinclair Community College in Ohio where she hopes to learn to fly drones. “I would go into office seeking out development on the riverfront and the Central Business District and other areas in Latonia. We really need to spread out our finances and develop all of the City of Covington.”
Wells argued that momentum has built in Covington in recent years and urged voters “to stay the course”. He is one of several names that will co-host “Let’s Stand With Sherry”, a rally in support of incumbent Mayor Sherry Carran who is facing a tough battle for reelection against former state senator and longtime Frankfort official Joe Meyer.
“You’ve seen a great deal of growth in Covington. Right next door is a $22 million hotel. Up the street will be a $17.5 million Duveneck Square. $30 million projects in Mainstrasse are on the forefront. This commission has invested in a company to decide what makes the best sense for the Latonia Shoping Centre. For years and years, it’s been declining and it’s time to invest in the right type of companies for Latonia.”
Huizenga also pointed to opportunities on the horizon in Latonia. “Ritte’s Corner is a really beautiful, historic commercial area that is an asset to this community,” he said. Redevelopment in the city and the attraction of new residents and families is already underway, he said. “The good news is, this is happening. We want to be a community where kids and families can come and stay and learn and grow and develop and be successful. To have families and young folks move here and start families and stay here, I think, is going to be a critical thing for our long-term success as well.”
Development opportunities will be presented when the land that currently houses the IRS center is available, too, candidates said.
“The IRS facility gives us a great opportunity,” said Flesch. He suggested that the city should build a new firehouse there and a police substation, as well as green space.
Warren has taken an optimistic attitude about the site. “This is going to be a great opportunity moving ahead. I know there are naysayers and people who say this will be a fiasco, but we have new jobs coming in,” he said. “I am not naive and know this will hurt short-term,” he said, but a committed and aggressive commission can overcome the anticipated budget hit. He said business leaders and the market should help determine what types of businesses or opportunities ultimately end up there.
Huizenga noted that his employer, Children, Inc., operates a daycare facility at the IRS site and that everyone was blindsided by the government’s announcement of the forthcoming closure. “This is some of the best real estate in the entire region for potential redevelopment,” Huizenga said. He called for parkign accommodations, green space, and room for an expansion of the adjacent Northern Kentucky Convention Center.
Wells also called for an expansion of the convention center and suggested that a company like Buxton, which was hired to perform an analysis in Latonia, could conduct a similar operation to help the city assess its needs and opportunities at the IRS site.
Williams said the focus needs to be on replenishing the jobs, “And how the city is going to sustain those businesses down there when you lose 1,800 workers going to eat lunch every day in downtown Covington,” she said. “As far as what to do with the space, I would like to see a nice retail come into Covington. I like to shop, I like to buy shoes. I don’t want to go all over town. I would like to shop right here in Covington.”
All the candidates reiterated their opposition to using tolls to finance the Brent Spence Bridge corridor project and all also support some variation of a proposed business improvement district downtown, in which property owners would elect to be assessed and the funds would be used to clean and promote downtown activities and businesses.
The candidates also responded to how they would work with the city’s public employee unions, relationships that have been strained for years as Covington emerges from its fiscal difficulties of years past. Williams, who was endorsed by the police, fire, and municipal employee unions, said that she would work well with them. Warren criticized the union endorsements because any promised raises for employees have been presented without a plan to pay for them, he said.
The candidates will have at least two more public forums in October with dates to be announced.
-Michael Monks, editor & publisher
