Fort Thomas Fire Chief Chris Amon used April’s city council meeting to introduce new firefighter Glenny Riggs, Jr. and give him his badge.
Riggs “comes to us by way of Wilder and Maysville and a couple stops in between,” Amon said. “He is a certified firefighter 1 and 2. He’s an instructor. He’s a public education fellow, and he’s a CPR instructor. So he has all the credentials to make a fantastic Fort Thomas firefighter.
“He couldn’t come more highly recommended, and you saw through the interview process that he did very well.”
Replacing Mike Wright, who is retiring at the end of this month, Riggs will be Badge Number 5, and he starts May 2.
Riggs introduced his wife Chloe, who pinned on his badge. Also on hand were his two daughters, ages 2 and 5.
“I do thank you all for this opportunity,” Riggs said. “I’m looking forward to joining this community.”
He noted that he and his wife had been around town on the weekend and were pleased to see everyone out and about running, jogging, and walking their dogs.
“It seems like a place everyone always likes to be,” Riggs said. “And now, we’d love to be a part of it. Again, I thank you for the opportunity.”
Community concerns over tree loss
Fort Thomas residents also spoke at the meeting about the loss of some trees along the Fort Thomas trail. The trees were recently removed by a homeowner on the homeowner’s property.
Jackie Fennell, of Robson Avenue, and others spoke about the issue.
“It felt like walking into a war zone,” Fennell said. “It’s known for being a very dense populated wildflower area and because the canopy now is gone, and they took out so many old growth trees, it will now allow all the honeysuckle and invasive weeds and flowers to come in. And so, those wildflowers will be gone, and we’re concerned about the erosion, the stability of the hillside.”
Because the trees were on private property, Mayor Eric Haas said, there was little the city could do. He said he did not believe any ill will was meant by the removal of the trees. However, he said, the city is looking into the matter and has invited members of the Fort Thomas Forest Conservancy, the Tree Commission and state officials to look at how to protect the public areas.
Others asked that the city do more to raise awareness and look into ordinances or other options for the future.
Finance Committee recommendations
The discussion of how to best use the American Recovery Plan Act, or ARPA, funds continued this month with the city’s Finance Committee.
Ben Pendery, chair of the committee, said he and committee member Lisa Kelly were joined in a robust discussion with Mayor Haas, city staff and council members Adam Blau, Ken Bowman and Roger Peterman, as well as members of the police and fire department.
After putting two new business support grants on hold last month, the committee continued its research and recommended funding for both grants be approved.
Last month, council voted to double the funding for the Grow Grant, a support grant already in place. The grant provides funding for facades and other outdoor features that both enhance the business and the business district. The Grow Grant funds were raised to $120,000.
City Economic Development Director Chanda Calentine had also requested funding for the two new grants. Each grant would receive $120,000 to use in support of area businesses. The committee recommended funding the Interior Outfit Grant, for making interior improvements, and the Rent Subsidy Grant.
The committee also recommended $400,000 be allocated for the reconstruction of Kyles Lane. Street replacement is an expensive undertaking, noted Pendery, and this would be an excellent use of the funds the ARPA would provide.
Other infrastructure projects are still being researched, he said, as well as the issue of premium pay for employees working during the COVID pandemic.
Council voted 5 to 1 to accept the committee’s recommendations for the additional business grants. Council member Adam Blau said voted against the additional business grants because of his concern was about city spending and the continuation of the business grants once federal funding is no longer available. The recommendation for Kyles Land funding passed unanimously.
Public Safety committee report
City Administrator Ron Dill shared results of a speed study undertaken by the city’s Public Safety committee. Two years ago, the city selected areas in subdivisions with adjoining streets to study speed issues on those streets. They did this in November of 2020 and again in November 2021.
They chose City View, Summit and the area behind Woodfill. The same time period was used in both. After those studies were complete, Dill said they chose the streets of Woodfill and Grant to do an additional study to test if lowering speed limits with signage only would have an effect in how fast people drove.
“We changed the speed limit by lowing it by five miles per hour,” he said.
The results showed minimal change. However, they decided to keep the lower speed limit in that area.
“I am so thankful for this study, and many of you know of my passion for this,” said Blau, chair of the Public Safety committee. He explained the results showed more would need to be done to address speeding issues than simply lowering the speed. This is valuable information when addressing these issues in the future, he said.
“A couple years ago, there were a lot of people concerned with the speed limits on some side streets here. The difference between a 25 mile-an-hour and a 20-mile-an-hour, there is a 20 percent chance of fatality at 25 mph and at 20 it’s 5 percent. That’s the biggest swing in percentage of fatality.”
The committee recommended reducing the speed limit on Woodfill and Grant streets and introduced an ordinance for a first reading at the council meeting.
City building update
Dill reported that supply chain woes have affected the city building project. While most of the exterior work on the building is complete and interior work in well underway, the electrical system is missing an important part that may not be available until August. The part is a main switchgear/electric panel that would allow for permanent electric to be installed throughout the building.
Work can continue while waiting for the part with the help of a temporary fix for electric, but the permanent part will be needed before the building will be fully functional.
Other projects are underway now that the weather is better. Work has begun on the reconstruction of Wilders Lane. Dill thanked area residents for their patience during a long and involved process.
Supply chain issues have also affected some city projects that are nearer to completion including the swings in Tower Park and the park shelter restrooms.
On a more positive note, Dill pointed out work underway outside the Mess Hall. Staff crews are building a walkway to accommodate the Farmer’s Market and other events to be held outside.