Crescent Springs Mayor Justin Hartfiel will step down as mayor effective March 27 in order to focus on his doctoral research, according to a letter obtained by LINK nky.
The letter, dated March 15, is addressed to Crescent Springs stakeholders, saying “it is the hallmark of a strong leader to know when it is time to pass the baton to the next leader.”
As of March 14, Hartfiel wrote, he has entered the research portion of his doctorate, which will take a large amount of his time in the coming months.
“Serving as Mayor of this city has been the highlight of my professional accomplishments up to this point and this was not a decision I took lightly,” he wrote. “Pursuing and finishing my doctorate has been a long-held goal of mine for quite some time, and it is now time to focus my efforts there.”
Hartfiel was first elected in 2020 to city council. According to his bio on Crescent Springs website, Hartfiel is a doctoral student in organizational leadership at Spalding University in Louisville.
Hartfiel included in the letter a list of accomplishments of his administration and some that started before his time as mayor:
1. The passage and implementation of a city-wide LGBTQ+ Fairness ordinance, becoming the 21st city in Kentucky to do so and only the second in Kenton County to do so.
2. Streamlining City Staff for more efficient operations by hiring a new Director of Public Works, multiple Public Works employees, a new Code Enforcement Officer, and new Assistant City Clerk. 3. Changing the culture of employment with the city to be more positive and resident focused. 4. Focusing efforts on beautification of the city along Buttermilk Pike and within Lou Hartfiel Memorial Park.
5. Starting Phase I of new, updated and more appealing street signs in historic Crescent Springs, along Buttermilk and along Western Reserve.
6. An investment in fire and police services by investing in a new and much needed fire house, along with funding our portion of an additional police officer.
