The Covington Board of Commissioners celebrated the official retirement order of longtime Economic Development Director Tom West Tuesday night.
West was joined by his colleagues and loved ones as elected officials and city staff members reflected on West’s impact in the city.
“There are so many things Tom has accomplished during his eight + years here with us,” said City Manager Sharmili Reddy, “and if we tried to list everything, we’d have to go over several meetings to do that.”
West moved to Covington in 1992. He formerly worked as the executive director of the Covington Business Council before joining the city as the economic development director in 2017. He has a master’s degree in community planning from UC.
“In many ways, this was my dream job,” West said. “This is a community that I fell in love with.”
West announced his retirement last fall. He’s been slowly transitioning out of his role at the city over the past few months. John Sadosky is currently the city’s acting economic development director.
West has overseen several key economic initiatives in the city, including the Central Riverfront Development. In his time at the city, his initiatives have brought more than $240 million in private investment to the city as well as 5,000 new jobs, according to a city press release.
Besides the Central Riverfront Development, West also oversaw the revision of the city’s zoning ordinance into its current Neighborhood Development Code, which is unique among Kenton County’s zoning ordinances in that it was developed mostly internally by the city itself, rather than being based off model ordinances from the county. He was also instrumental in bringing the first speculative industrial project to the city in decades.
“You’re truly a city ambassador,” Commissioner Tim Acri told West. “The direction that you set for this city is contagious.”
“You’re one of those people, whenever you talk about something, any type of project, you can feel how excited you are about it and how much you love what you’re doing,” said Commissioner James Toebbe.
“You’re leaving big shoes to fill,” said Commissioner Tim Downing. “And I think that you’ve done a big part in being the heart of many of the things that you’ve done here in the city.”
“People will be able to see the things that you’ve been doing for years and years to come,” said Mayor Ron Washington.
West will officially conclude his tenure with the city on Aug. 1.
