Fort Thomas held the first meeting of the new year on Jan. 2. As the first order of business, Campbell County District Court Judge Erin Sizemore administered the oath of office to council.
All the members of council retained their seats in the recent election. Fort Thomas council for 2025 are Jeff Bezold, Adam Blau, Andy Ellison, Lauren McIntosh, Ben Pendery and Eric Strange. McIntosh was unable to attend the night’s meeting, but all the others took the oath.
The short meeting also included a report from City Administrator Matt Kremer who shared a list of accomplishments and projects the city completed in the past year.
Here are a few highlights from the list:
Money for a skate park. The city applied for a grant through the Water Conservation Fund. It was approved by the state in June and is awaiting word on federal funding. It’s a matching grant (80/20). The state has already approved what is actually known as a “Grant Grant” for $119,000 for the city. That money will more than pay the city’s share of the federal grant if it comes through, Kremer said. News on the federal grant should come in the next six to nine months, he said.
Route 8 saga comes to a close. Landslides, erosion and hillside slippage plagued the state route for years. After a long closure and much discussion with state officials, Route 8 is fixed and open in the city – and the state has agreed to fund maintenance. The city will continue to monitor and address some of the issues, but Kremer said the state has agreed to foot the bill for its road.
Support for the schools’ new sports complex project. The city helped with pass-through funding from the state for Fort Thomas Independent Schools’ new sports complex project. The schools received $5 million to be provided over two years. City council also approved $517,000 in the city budget to help with the project.
Unified Development Ordinance approved. After more than a year of discussion and input from consultants, city officials, city staff, community members, the planning and zoning board and council, the city has approved an updated zoning ordinance and subdivision regulations. Kremer said he expects there will be adjustments and refinements over the coming year as the ordinance goes into effect.
Hired a historical consultant. At the urging of community members and council, the city hired a historical consultant as part of the zoning ordinance process and discussion. The consultant helped identify the needs and concerns surrounding the city’s historic districts and buildings. Fort Thomas has a rich legacy, and accessing expertise in this area has been a very good move, Kremer said.
New first responder vehicles. A new ambulance ordered last year should arrive mid-year in 2025. A new ladder truck is on order and should arrive later in the year.
Six pickleball courts in Highland Park. The project also includes improvements to the parking lot, sidewalks and connecting walkways in the park.
Annual streets program completed. This past year, improvements were made to Covert Run Pike, Gunpowder, Memory Lane, Pleasant Avenue, Winston Hill, Hanover Place and East Villa Place. These were not part of the initial plan, but funding became available to do the additional streets. The city also did some repairs on Mitchell Hill and on the alleyway between Grandview and Southview Avenue, Kremer said.
Smaller projects included electrostatic painting of the iron gate at Greene Street, nearing completion of final items at the city building rehab, including the AV system, and adding “walk your wheels” signs and sharrows throughout town. The city’s iconic water tower got a power wash, and the wall nearby was washed and sealed.
The city also added radar that can pick up lighter vehicles like golf carts and motorcycles to two busy intersections with more planned in the coming year. They added seven kiosks for wayfinding in city parks. The Vietnam Memorial was completed in Tower Park this year.
Kremer noted the Fort Thomas Police Department conducted its popular Citizens Police Academy this year. The department also purchased a cell phone processing system that will save money and time working with cell phones used in evidence.
Kremer concluded by thanking city staff for all their work this past year.
“This is 38 things on my list here, but the amount of staff time that was put into this to manage, to prep, to double check it’s being done,” Kremer said. “I think it was a really good year for us in our spending on that.”
“I love doing this, reviewing the whole year to see what we did, because we are all part of the decision making to make this happen,” said Mayor Eric Haas. “And it’s fun to think of the positive stuff.”
Council member Adam Blau thanked Kremer and the city staff for attending to the smaller details as well as the larger projects.
“Sometimes we look at the big picture, and we forget we’re actually kind of a little-picture town,” Blau said. “Little things really do add up. So things like garbage cans, the fences, the way you do them the right way. That lasts a long time.”