The Fort Wright City Council has asked the state of Kentucky to take over the ownership and maintenance of a bridge on Dudley Road.
The bridge traverses Banklick Creek and leads into an area containing Gateway Community and Technical College’s Transportation Technology Center, a pumping station for Sanitation District 1 and – in time – a new regional fire training facility.
The request took the form of a city resolution that the Fort Wright City Council passed at a special meeting on Wednesday. Mayor Dave Hatter stated at the meeting the bridge had become a money suck for the city, as all of the institutions in and around the bridge are non-taxable.
Originally, the bridge connected the adjoining road to the now-defunct Robke Chevrolet dealership, which had generated tax revenue for the city. Part of the resolution states the city would give the $73,500 currently held in reserve for maintaining the bridge to the state to aid in its maintenance efforts.
“When that bridge was put in many, many years ago, it was basically to support Robke Chevrolet, which was a revenue-generating opportunity for the city,” Hatter said at the meeting. “Since they closed down, and now Gateway has that property, and all the adjacent properties are ultimately non-taxable entities, there’s no revenue in that. It’s basically just the cost sink for the city, and it provides absolutely zero value to any resident of the city, unless they happen to be Gateway students.”
The resolution passed unanimously. Hatter stated the goal of the resolution was to include it along with statements from other government entities who support the ownership transfer in a request to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, arguing their case.
You can read the full text of the resolution below.