The Elsmere City Council added a new misconduct charge against Councilmember Serena Owen at a special meeting on May 8. The council also rescheduled Owen’s removal hearing to June 4.
Elsmere previously charged Owen with six counts of woeful neglect and misconduct at a special hearing on April 29. The updated resolution adds a seventh count of misconduct against Owen for allegedly using the city’s monies to make a purchase with the Kentucky League of Cities without the mayor’s authorization and consent on May 2.
Read the back story about Serena Owen and Elsmere City Council
The special meeting was held after Owen sent an email to Mayor Marty Lenhof and the city council on May 6. In the email, Owen stated that she was unaware of the April 29 meeting and requested surveillance footage of the Council Chamber between 4 and 9 p.m. of all special meetings held from January up to May 6.
One of the original charges against Owen holds that she directed city staff to delete photos of her attendance at an April public event. Responding to the charge in her email, Owen explained that she and another community member were asked if they agreed to have their photo posted to social media, after the photo had been taken.
“We wanted written documentation that we did not agree with that since we had been harassed and attacked on social media,” Owen wrote in the email. “So, we emailed [Deputy Clerk Lauren] Frantum and asked if she would please crop us out of the photo before posting it on social media or sharing it with others. Neither one of us directed her to delete the photo from anything.”
Owen also addressed another charge, regarding her failure to create a valid email address for official city communications. In the email, she requested the mayor’s permission for a city-issued phone or laptop to access her official email address. She explained that her phone lacks the storage for new applications and that she uses a shared computer.
The content of the six original charges against Owen remains unchanged in Resolution 8-2025.
Councilmember Gloria Grubbs said that the city has been unable to contact Owen by phone. Elsmere Police Chief Russell Wood added that he received no response when he visited her residence.
After reading the updated charging document, Attorney Jeff Otis recommended that the council reschedule Owen’s removal hearing for a later date. The original date of May 27 would give Owen insufficient time to prepare her documents and defenses, he said.
The city council unanimously voted to schedule the hearing at 6 p.m. on June 4 in the Council Chamber of the Elsmere City Building.