After years of dealing with semi tractor trailers being guided by GPS systems onto the part of Erlanger road which goes behind the Cherry Hill subdivision, the city of Erlanger might take the draconian step of closing the road.
“So we’ve actually had a couple more incidents with semis on Sycamore Lane in Cherry Hill,” Councilman Tom Cahill said. “And just looking at that, Mr. Kremer (CAO Matthew Kremer)shared some information with me, when you look at what’s happened over the last couple of years, we’ve had power outages, due to poles being knocked down, damage to the neighborhood, overall safety to the residents; we’ve had cars destroyed. At this point, with the information that Mr Glenn (Public Works Director Peter Glenn) just provided–it’s $1600 a quarter?–that’s what we’re spending on basically what I’m calling whack a mole for the cost of the trucks to knock down. At what point do we say, hey, this is enough? Probably the cheapest and easiest option is to shut down that road.”
He said they probably shouldn’t do that, since there is a new Erlanger road park coming up in the future, so he proposed that the councilmembers and mayor talk to the residents there, and tell them they have been hearing from the same people, over and over, that there is a problem here, and find out if it is enough of a problem in their eyes that the city is looking at shutting down the road because of the semis. He said they probably need to move forward to try and find a solution to the problem.
Cahill said the city has tried to change the GPS coordinates, narrowed the road, put up signs saying no trucks, signs saying don’t turn this way, and the trucks ignore the signs and keep tearing it up. He said it’s not that they don’t care, they are just following the GPS directions.
Erlanger Mayor Jessica Fette acknowledged that the trucks continue to use the road. She said the city has taken care of the road repairs, and gotten the electrical wires repaired, over and over again. She agreed there needs to be a short term solution.
“I think one of the issues is the Apple maps, they are almost impossible to change,” she said. “Google has changed, but Apple maps have not. Talking to the businesses is not working.”
She speculated how much outrage would be generated if they closed the portion of Erlanger road behind the Cherry Hill subdivision where it travels to North Houston road. It is a short section of road, and the name was changed to Sycamore Tree Lane last year. But she also said she does not want to go with another sign solution because she said if the trucks ignore the signs that say don’t turn here, they will not pay attention to signs that say one way.
Cahill said there would have to be a solid barrier to prevent use of the road. He warned that something bad is going to happen, and what would the city say then–that yes, they put up barriers, and they spent a lot of money, but they haven’t solved the problem.
Fette suggested doing a forum in the street, like they did with the parks department, picking an intersection in the neighborhood, and erecting tents, then inviting all the residents to come and voice their opinions. They agreed to set the meeting on Thursday, April 28, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm, to have the gathering so they can find out what all the residents think about closing the street. However, that date and time could change, and Mayor Fette said that they will put the finalized details out on social media.
Mayor Fette invited people to view the new city website, which she designed, researching other cities last year to find out what works and what doesn’t work, and what will make the website easy to use.
A municipal order passed which classifies three police vehicles as surplus so they can be sold at auction.
Council passed the second reading of an ordinance which rewrites an entire chapter of the occupational tax. Attorney Jack Gatlin said the changes do not affect the tax rate, but rather how the businesses perceive the tax law.
Another ordinance was passed which amended the 2021-2022 budget, and council passed the second reading of an ordinance allowing family child care in all residential zones.
Council listened to the first reading of an ordinance which changes the pay for councilmembers, but will not go into effect until January of 2023. Councilmembers wanted to simplify their pay, and remove their automatic pay increases. The councilmembers will each receive $4,468 per year, payable in monthly installments.
A municipal order passed which authorizes the mayor to enter into an interlocal Consortium Agreement with the cities of Bellevue, Covington, Ludlow and Newport. As a participating jurisdiction, the consortium can receive funding for the HOME program, whose objectives include expanding the supply of decent affordable housing for low and very low income families. Covington mayor Joe Meyer had attended a caucus meeting recently to explain the program to council, and asked if the city would like to join. Covington will get funds to administer the program and Erlanger will get a seat on the board. The program allows people to apply for the program, and if qualified, people can get a forgiveable loan for a downpayment. Currently the houses have to cost under $170,000, and Councilmember Jennifer Jasper Lucas mentioned that at this time the city doesn’t have many houses in that price range. Of the 11 councilmembers at the meeting everyone voted for the program except for Renee Skidmore, who voted no.
Another municipal order was passed which changed the rules and procedures of meetings. The main change was to ad hoc committees. Now instead of five people in attendance at meetings, there has to be at least three, and members cannot be residents.
City Clerk Sherry Hoffman explained to council and the audience that when the city decided on a new company for trash pick up and recycling, both companies who submitted bids included a fuel charge, which had never happened before. The company the city decided on, Rumpke, has rules that say if the price of diesel fuel cost $4.51 or over on the first week of March, a fuel charge would be added on April 1, and that charge would stay on for a year. Hoffman explained that in the first week of March this year diesel fuel cost $4.64, so a fuel charge of $.84 was added to the bills, but that was the highest it will go.
It could have been worse with Republic. According to councilmember Rebecca Reckers, the raise could have been 25 percent.
Peter Glenn talked to council about requesting bids for the Erlanger Road Master Plan, telling them they received three bids, one from Branstetter Carrol, one from Human Nature, and one from Hitchcock Design. This information was to get a dollar amount to put into the budget for 2022-2023 and will be expanded upon in the future.
Select Pest Control was featured in the Business Spotlight.
Mayor Fette read a proclamation declaring April 30 to be Arbor Day in the city. There will be a special event at Doe Run Lake on that day starting at 9 am where tree saplings will be given out, on a first come first served basis. The saplings will be Norway Spruce, Oak, or Maple.
Renee Wilson attended the meeting to ask if council will consider a proclamation for Juneteenth. She told council she can provide a sample proclamation.
