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Fort Thomas City Council congratulates Fire Department Lieutenant Kyle Kaufman |
By Robin Gee, City Council Beat Editor
An update on city projects, a new look at the city's street resurfacing program and concerns by a group of homeowners were among the topics discussed at the December meeting of Fort Thomas city council.
In the visitors’ section of the meeting, city council heard concerns from Melanie Powers, president of the Pearson Street Home Owners Association. The HOA represents six homeowners who live on the west side of the street in Tower Park.
As part of the Alexandria Circle project, the Northern Kentucky Water District had the water main moved from behind the homes to the front, which required new services into all the residences. Delays in the project left openings inside yards that allowed water to seep into basements and cause damage. According to Powers, the issues have not been addressed, and each time it rains more damage is incurred.
Homeowners seek city help
"The Water District approached us very early on in the construction phase of Alexander Circle and needed our agreement to change water pipes that were both in and around the homes there on Pearson Street,” she said.
"They promised us that we would be very happy with the results and, that by allowing these changes, our homes would be improved. We were promised minimal disturbance to the homes and that there would not be any damage in any way to the historic homes or to the HOA common grounds.”
The promises were false, she said. "What actually happened was that JNT Excavating, subcontracted by the Water District, completed substandard and incompetent work...That incompetent work has led to serious water damage in five of the six homes."
The homeowners have consulted engineers with expertise in this type of work and were told it was substandard, she said. As it stands now, there is an open hole in the common area and large trenches on the properties.
Despite numerous phone calls by Pearson and assistance to push the water district by Dill, she said her group has not heard from the water district, or the contractors involved.
"We now face thousands of dollars in damages, attorney fees, storage fees because five of the six of us can no longer use our basements for storage and other assorted expenses. This is wrong, no matter how you look at this," she said.
Looking for resolution
Powers asked the city for help pressuring the Water District and the contractors to respond and, perhaps to set up a fund to help offset the homeowners’ costs.
City Manager
Ron Dill explained that the issue falls under the jurisdiction and responsibility of the Water District, but the city will continue to advocate for resolution for the home owners.
In the meantime, the residents are working with their own attorneys to push for repairs and compensation. So far, the contractors’ insurance companies have not offered reasonable compensation, said Powers.
Both Dill and Mayor
Eric Haas have agreed to meet with the residents soon after Christmas. "We will try to stay on top of the information as we’re notified, continue the conversations with the Water District to encourage them to do something, but a lot of it’s out of our hands. Whatever we can do to help, we will do it," said Haas.
Public safety departments report
Fire Chief
Mark Bailey announced the promotions of two city firefighters. He congratulated Captain
Rich Daugherty and Lieutenant
Kyle Kaufman for their well-deserved advancement.
RELATED: Fort Thomas Promotes Two Firefighters
Interim Police Chief
Brent Moening gave the police report. A highlight of the month, he said, is the annual Cops and Kids event sponsored by the Campbell County Fraternal Order of Police, which raises money for the project throughout the year. This year, the department hosted 65 area children taking them to breakfast and lunch and providing $300 to each child for toys, presents and clothing for the holidays.
While the month included positive highlights such as the shopping event and the "ride with and officer to school day," Moening said it’s a season that is marred by an increase in burglaries and thefts.
He congratulated and thanked one area resident who was very helpful in the apprehension of a package thief operating in the area near the Gettysburg Apartments.
"He called to say he’d seen a suspicious vehicle in the area several times," Moening explained. "Two of our officers, Officer [
Brandon]
Vance and Officer [
Brad]
Reichenbach located the suspicious vehicle. From the front of the vehicle to the back was full of packages. They recovered $2,867 worth of stolen items. It’s an ongoing investigation, but we believe that this person had stolen $4000 worth of merchandise."
The police are in the process of returning the stolen goods to residents.
City manager reports health plan success
Dill reported shared progress on the city’s employee health plan. It is the first year of the self-funded plan. Data available only covers about three-quarters of the year in the program, yet, all indicators are very positive, he said.
"We are managing our expected increases, working with our employee groups... maintaining status quo for next year."
This year, he does expect a modest increase of about 7.1 percent, which is in line with where the city has been on projected numbers, but he expects more cost control as the program continues. "This year we will work with our groups, identify cost savings and implement them throughout the year." City council voted to approve continuation of the program.
Catching up with ongoing projects
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Fort Thomas began celebrating Veteran's Day at the Charters of Freedom Monument in 2017 |
Before it gets lost in the holidays and end-of-year business, Dill said he wanted to take the opportunity to thank everyone involved in the annual Veterans Day celebration. "We had a great crowd for our third year. It’s the right thing to do in community like Fort Thomas, and we’ve done it well. It’s become a very valuable event for our community."
The brief touch of wintery weather earlier in the season, allowed city staff to test out the work done on Memorial Parkway, said Dill. The good news is there were no ice formations, and it looks like the fix was effective.
City council and the community will hear next month on the progress of the Comprehensive Plan implementation project, Dill said. He and
Chris Manning will make a formal report on this year and on the direction to take in the year ahead.
Dill also reported that the city website work has been ongoing. City staff has spoken with two contractors and will make a determination about who to work with soon.