The Covington Business Council Foundation, dba the Urban Partnership of Covington, is pleased to announce a $50,000 grant from The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank
Foundation for general operating support.
The CBC Foundation has been pursuing the creation of a business improvement district (BID) for Covington for the past year. That work has included a recently-completed pilot clean and safe program that in 21 months resulted in the collection of more than 45 tons of litter and the elimination of more than 800 graffiti tags in the city’s urban core.
The clean and safe effort mirrors one facet of a three-pronged approach that would be provided if such an improvement district is created through an ongoing petition effort asking commercial property owners to agree being assessed in exchange for such services. This overall effort is designed to make Covington more attractive to potential businesses and should result in increased property values as economic activity increases. A similar model locally is managed by Downtown Cincinnati, Incorporated.
CBC Foundation Executive Director Pat Frew says he is grateful for the donation. “The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation has been a strong supporter of our Foundation and of our sister business advocacy group the Covington Business Council for many years. The late Ralph Haile actually helped found the Council more than four decades ago. The Haile/U.S. Bank Foundation has been incredibly supportive financially and intellectually as an advisor as we have gone through the process of conceiving and developing the BID. We would not have reached this point without their involvement.”
Organizers have surpassed the halfway point in an effort to get over half the 302 properties with signed petitions and over half of the total property value in the district represented in owner signatures. They hope to complete the petition process this summer.
Source: news release
Photo: Downtown Covington/RCN file