Following closely on a recent visioning meeting, Bellevue leaders shared updates for several streets and other infrastructure improvement projects at the February council meeting.
Bellevue is now managing matching state and federal grants for 10 projects that are underway or in the planning stages.
“We had our visioning session on Saturday. There’s a lot of positive energy that was generated from that and a lot of good ideas,” said City Administrator Frank Warnock in his report to council.
“I wanted to highlight all of the grants that we are administering right now. We’ve got close to $5 million in grants. So in the area of economic development, we are really doing well,” he said.
He listed the projects underway, completed or planned for the near future. Each requires an 80-20 split with the city for funding, except for the completed FEMA grant for a hillside stabilization project. With that federal grant, homeowners chipped in 13% toward the cost.
The FEMA hillside stabilization grant
The need to address dangerous slippage in the area was a topic of concern for several years before the city could secure the grant and work with neighbors on affected parts of Taylor and Bonnie Leslie avenues as well as North and South Sherry Lane.
Although the project is complete at this point, it was included in the discussion of grants at the meeting because the city is working with the Kentucky Board of Emergency Management to close out the project so final reimbursements can happen.
“It’s a major accomplishment. We saved 23 homes in Bellevue….The walls are behind many of the homes on North and South Sherry, not all of them, but the walls were placed where the engineers said to place them,” Warnock said.
Repairs, improvements and more
The other grant-funded projects include several aimed at repairing the ravages of time on the city’s infrastructure, while others look to the future. These include:
Donnermeyer Streetscape project — This $990,000 project is now underway. The goal is to improve the roadway, consolidate access points, add a bike lane and replace sidewalks between Riviera Drive and Berry Avenue in one of Bellevue’s main shopping districts.
Bellevue Riverfront Commons phase 1 —This is a $950,000 project for constructing a new multi-use path, about 1,200 feet long, to run from Patchen Drive to Lafayette. Preliminary design has begun, and the city is coordinating with SD1. This is part of the multi-city riverfront development project with other river cities.
Later in the meeting, council approved an order authorizing Mayor Charlie Cleves to enter into an interlocal agreement with Bromley, Ludlow, Covington, Newport, Dayton and Silver Grove, as well as Campbell County, OKI Regional Council of Governments and Southgate Partners to continue with the planning and designing of the Riverfront Commons project.
Bellevue resurfacing and sidewalk improvements — At the projected cost of $468,604, this project provides funding for resurfacing and partial sidewalk replacement on Berry Avenue, Taylor Avenue, Bonnie Leslie Avenue and Wilson Road Boulevard. Construction for this project was awarded to Riegler, but the city has not yet received the final construction invoice.
Grandview Elementary School sidewalk — This is for construction of 180 feet of new sidewalk at the school along the east side of Foote Avenue. The cost is estimated to be $125,000.
Grandview Elementary Safe Routes to School on Lincoln Road project — The city has secured a grant for $345,000 for this project. Plans have been submitted.
KY 8/Fairfield sidewalk replacement/improvement — This is a $755,000 project in Bellevue’s main business area.
Covert Run Pike sidewalk and drainage project — This project is for $1.8 million, with new storm features to address drainage issues and construction of sidewalks up to the new Reserve at Bellevue development. The flooding issues on the street have been ongoing for several years, and Warnock said he is happy, thanks to help from the city engineer, that the city now has the grant funding to address these problems.
Frank Benke Way sidewalks — This is a $436,000 project and is awaiting Office of Local Programs to authorize design funding.
Bellevue VanVost pedestrian bridge– Warnock said this has faced some financial hurdles. The city secured a $155,000 grant, but actual cost of the repairs turned out to be much more than the bid.
An auditor’s caution
Council also heard a report from auditor John Chamberlin of Chamberlin, Owen & Co. He said he did not find any issues with the city’s finances and internal controls or with compliance. He did warn, however, that with federal grants in particular cities must have written procedures in place. This is something he said many of his clients don’t have, but with the influx of federal grant money, he said the city should ensure these were in place.
He also had concerns about what he termed internal controls over financial reporting. He urged the city to consider engaging the services of an accounting expert to help keep the city’s financial reporting in compliance.
The day after the meeting, Warnock said the city had already begun addressing the issues Chamberlin identified. The budgeting for projects is challenging, he said, because circumstances change as time goes by, and estimates for a project may be different than actual costs.
“The auditor made a good point that we need to do better in our accounting of the federal dollars…” said Warnock. “Between now and the end of the year, we have to make sure that we have funds available, and budget for whatever it is that we have to pay for these grants for this fiscal year. And then, that process starts over July 1.”
Challenges and triumphs ahead
Warnock noted that street maintenance and repair are challenges in a city as old as Bellevue (about to turn 150).
“We’ve had several street failures that were not anticipated, and it’s very hard to budget for that. We try to have funds available for emergencies. It’s just going to happen. It’s inevitable,” he said. “You’ve got the riverfront, which is flat, but then as you go south Bellevue becomes hilly. And that becomes challenging for sidewalks, streets and infrastructure.”
Still, Warnock is proud of what the city has accomplished in the past few years and said he is looking forward to completing the many projects underway or planned in the near future. He is excited, he said, about projects planned for the riverfront.
“We are working on a $90 million development on the riverfront that will include a hotel, public parking spaces, a public parking garage, commercial space, retail space, townhomes. It’s going to be transformational for the city. And, you know, we’ve got a small staff, and Bellevue has roughly about 6,000 people in one square mile. We are doing the best that we can to try to move the city forward.”