Get to know your City Council

With election day nearly upon us, we at Fort Thomas Matters
wanted to take the time to get to know our elected local government officials,
the City Council.  While the six
members are running unopposed, it is still important to see their thoughts on
the issues facing Fort Thomas.  I
asked the following five questions to each member (at time of publishing,
Council member Jay Fossett was unable to be reached for comment).

1)  
What has been your best accomplishment
on City Council and/or what do you most look forward to accomplishing?

2)  
What do you believe is the greatest
issue facing Fort Thomas?

3)  
What would you say to a small business
considering locating in Fort Thomas?

4)  
Why does local government matter? 
Could we not consolidate into larger governing bodies?

5)  
What prompted you to originally run for
City Council?

Their unedited responses are
below:

Ken Bowman

1. Since this will be my first term, I can only reference
accomplishments while serving as Chair of Fort Thomas Renaissance. We
administered a facade grant program that made great visible improvements to
five main street properties in town including Best Furniture, Rawlings Real
Estate, Highland Theater Building, Fort Thomas Pizza building, and Dr. Bowman’s
dentist office location. I also was involved in establishing Merchants &
Music 9 years ago. It has grown to a regionally recognized and highly
anticipated annual event.

One
thing that I would really like to see would be the re-introduction of the
walking path around south end reservoir. I’m not sure what obstacles there are,
but hope to revisit the issue.

2. The elephant in the fiscal room would be CERS funding
and upcoming negotiations related to pensions and benefits for city
employees. There are many others that I reference in my platform document
that are also important to address.

3. As a small business owner that will soon celebrate a 25
year anniversary of operating a retail business in Fort Thomas, (Bowman’s
Framing) I know that it can be done. I would highly encourage any operators
with good business plans and lots of energy and dedication to locate here. This
city could use a few more good independently operated businesses.

4. We need a strong and responsive local government to serve
the needs of it’s individual citizens. We do still need regional
collaborations, and to work with neighboring communities and organizations so
that we can avoid counter productive conflicts that may arise by not paying
attention to our neighboring communities plans.

I
feel that consolidation could result in a less responsive government to the
local needs.

5. After 9 years as a city volunteer on the Renaissance
Board, I became very familiar with local officials and operations. I wanted to
be in a position to have a greater impact on the future of the city. I was a
little torn when making the decision last year, because I felt that the
current council was effective and really did not want to see any of them leave
their position. It worked out well with that not being necessary since Jill
Steller and Jim Doepker, who were both valuable members decided that it was
time to pass the torch to some new members. I’m confident that with the
addition of Jay Fosset and his great wealth of knowledge and experience, along
with the other members we will have a very effective city
council. I fully expect citizens to take advantage of my accessibility and stop
in my shop from time to time to voice any concerns that they may have.

Lisa
Kelly:

1. I am very proud
of our vast improvements to our parks especially Rossford park. We live in an
amazing city and having these unbelievable parks is great for the whole
community. I would like to see some improvements made to the dog park in
Highland Park. That area has an enormous amount of visitors each day… Rain,
shine, or snow! It brings in a lot of people from other cities and could be a
great asset to our local businesses! 

2. I think the
greatest issue facing Ft. Thomas is maintaining our strong sense of community
and public safety. We have an excellent Police and Fire department who receive
ongoing training and often go above and beyond      to keep our
neighborhoods safe. We have outstanding community events as well which draw
visitors from other cities.  I think it’s vital to maintain and always
strive to improve our sense of community which makes Ft.Thomas unique! I also
would like to see some more small businesses come to town. 

3. I would tell
someone thinking of opening a business in town that once again Ft. Thomas is a
great close knit community. I opened my own business, Dirty Hairy’s Dog Spa and
my business has grown leaps and bounds. Most business comes from word of mouth
and recommendations from my current customers. We have a great sense of loyalty
here in Ft. Thomas. It may be a slow start but once everyone knows you are
there word will spread and happy customers will share and recommend your
business to others. You can also join the Fort Thomas Business Association and
work with others business owners. I would love to see some more businesses in
town. 

4. Local government
is critical for maintaining the unique needs of each city. If you look at all
the other cities around Ft.Thomas you will realize that each one is different
in many ways. If we consolidated into larger governing bodies it wouldn’t
address the individuality of each city. What works in one town may not work
well in others.

5. Initially in 2008
I ran for City Council to be more involved in the community and I was and still
am very much opposed to the deer hunt! 

 I have learned
so much being on Council and truly enjoyed it. It has been a great learning
experience and I look forward to my next term.

Roger
Peterman

1. I take the most satisfaction
from my involvement with upgrading the appearance of the City through
streetscape improvements at Midway, City Center and Inverness, together with
the improvements to the City’s parks.

2. We will be facing financial
challenges, given the increasing contributions the City has to make to the
retirement system pension fund.

3. With the improvements to the
Midway, City Center and Inverness areas, we have created a great environment
for small businesses to locate and grow.

4. Some consolidation of
services may be appropriate, such as water and sewer service that has been
consolidated throughout Northern Kentucky, but it is important that citizens
feel connected to their local government and that they have the access that is
appropriate to meet their needs.

5. See my answer to Question
1.  When I first ran for council, the City was in need of a makeover in
order to maintain its image as one of the most desirable places to line in the
region.  Much of that improvement has been accomplished.

Eric Haas

1. The city went through a long-range plan
visioning process years ago, that involved many citizens sharing their ideas
and dreams for the city.  That lead us to the business district improvements
and most recently the park improvements.  

2. Fort Thomas is a well-run, financially sound
city, but we are impacted by the continuing financial burden of the state
pension system that needs to fixed.

3. Fort Thomas can be an excellent place to operate
a business. I would suggest a good business plan that emphasizes a marketing
strategy that encourages feedback and listening to the customers.  I
believe good use of Social Media can be the key to success for a business
locating in Fort Thomas.

4. I am intrigued by the concept of consolidated
government, but more so by concept of continuing to look for ways to share
services to lower our costs.   It is nice to have a local governmental
body that can be more responsive to the needs of the citizens.

5. Back in 1987, I was appointed to fill an
unexpired term on the Newport City Commission.  When I moved back
to Fort Thomas, I was encouraged to run for council to fill a vacancy.

Tom
Lampe

1.    
Personally, as Chairman of the Parks
& Recreation Committee of Council, I’m proud of the improvements to the
parks; specifically the new shelters and rest rooms in the parks, the new
amphitheater in Tower Park, and the complete renovation of Rossford Park.  In general, the best accomplishment by
the whole council has been delivering high quality services to our citizens and
improvements to our city while remaining fiscally responsible.

2.    
The CERs pension issues and the overall
challenging economic environment.

3.    
Have a solid business plan and have
financial strength/backing to last through the tough times.  I would seek the advice from the
longstanding successful businesses we have in our community and learn how they
succeeded.  If it is a potential
retail business they will need strong marketing to attract customers from
outside our city.

4.    
Why would you want larger
government?  I think Ft. Thomas is
a unique and special town.  I want
our decisions to be made by our city staff and elected officials.  That way we keep up with the same level
of service our citizens are accustomed to.  I want out own Police patrolling our streets and not
compromise any services.

5.    
It is a way to give something back to
my city where I love living.  I
look at it no different than volunteering at my parish, my children’s schools, or
at a charitable organization where I can add value, experience, and perspective.

To learn more about your City
Council members, go to http://www.ftthomas.org/Council.html
 (soon-to-be-elected officials do
not yet have a bio posted).  And
don’t forget to vote on November 6!