CALL TO ORDER - The meeting was called to order by Mayor Harold A. Ries with the Pledge of Allegiance and silent prayer, at 7:30 PM.

ROLL CALL - Present were Mrs. Peggy Sensel and Messrs. Paul Meier, Ralph Laird, and John Drummey. Mrs. Beverly Draud and Mr. Joe Maloney were absent.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

The Mayor wanted to add under Old Business E) Quest meeting. Approved as amended on a motion by Mr. Drummey, seconded by Mrs. Sensel.

Motion Approved

Yes 4 No 0 Absent 2

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Approved as written on a motion by Mr. Meier, seconded by Mrs. Sensel.

Motion Approved

Yes 4 No 0 Absent 2

CITIZENS AND GUESTS

Mr. Ralph Bailey was recognized as was two students from the University of Cincinnati.

CORRESPONDENCE

Ms. Monhollen reported on the following:

- letter from the Division of Forestry notifying the City that the application for Tree City USA had been accepted and approved.

- copy of a letter that had been sent from Mayor Dennis Stein to the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. It read that the City of Villa Hills was relinquishing membership in the Chamber because the Chamber had recently solicited members to support consolidation as defined in HB913.

- made mention that two environmental forums to be held in February and March will be at the Four Seasons in our city.

The Mayor brought up the ribbon cutting ceremony that took place at the Crestview Hills Mall for the Home Builders Annual Show.

CITY ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT

Mr. Celarek briefly touched on the following topics:

1) Snow removal has cost over $14,000 to date, which is $4,000 over budget. Jarco, Inc. has done a fine job in keeping the streets as clear as possible which resulted in several compliments from residents. Federal aid has been requested through Kenton County and the aid should bring down the year to date total for snow removal.

2) Joe Kearns with the Kentucky Department of Transportation, Highway Division, has said the construction on I-275 should be completed by early summer.

3) The Northern Kentucky Area Planning Council is having a meeting February 29 at Four Seasons with main focus on the Takings Bill (SB 98).

4) Northern Kentucky Night in Frankfort resulted in Mr. Celarek meeting Governor Patton and the North American President of Toyota Corp. Mr. Celarek also attended the winter conference of the Kentucky City Managers Association and met approximately forty-five other administrators.

5) An article in the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Business Journal listed Kentucky as second in the nation with lower business costs (88% of national average).

6) The annual summary of building permits for 1995 was placed at each councilmember’s seat.

OLD BUSINESS

A) Law: Mr. Barry Wehrman reported on the following:

1. Ordinance 1995-9-1 - second reading was given and questions were asked regarding specific city lines with reference to Crestview Hills, Ft. Mitchell and Ft. Wright. Mr. Wehrman said that once the ordinance is published and any affected property owners notified, the annexation would be official. Mr. Meier made a motion to accept Ordinance 1995-9-1 as written, seconded by Mr. Laird.

Motion Approved

Yes 4 No 0 Absent 2

B) Engineering: Mr. Celarek gave a summary of events that have taken place with reference to the Thomas More Parkway Project. On January 23, a meeting was held at the Crestview Hills City Building to discuss engineering drawings with contributors. Mr. Berling explained at the meeting the lay out of sidewalks, curbing and how the road will be widened. Mr. Celarek commented that areas of concern not covered in the engineering plans might be the relocation of public mailboxes, placement of guard rails and speed limit. Publication of bids will be February 9 with a due date of February 29. Bids will be opened at 4PM on the 29th and Mr. Berling will make a recommendation at the March council meeting. If all goes well, construction should begin the end of March with a completion time around middle of December. Discussion ensued over which contributors, if any, had final approval of the recommended bidder.

C) Comprehensive Plan Committee: Mayor Ries announced the members of the Comprehensive Plan Committee as discussed last month. The new members are: Richard Lonergan, acting chair, Janet Buhr, Wayne Clark, Ed Monihan, Mark Townsend, and Geri Collins. The Mayor was curious as to what portion of the comprehensive plan needed to be changed. Mr. Lonergan replied the changes needed were in the usage of land. Short discussion on the relevance of the Blackburn Committee.

The Mayor noted that 1996 Council Committees have been set and Mr. Celarek will meet with the chair of each committee to discuss frequency of committee meetings.

D) Quest : The Mayor noted a meeting he had attended in Covington. Father Cleves is the chairman of Quest, a group formed to look at possible changes that need to be made in the area by 2020.

E) Streetlighting: Mr. Meier read an estimate from Karen Wehrman of ULH&P stating cost and location of either nine or ten lights on Shinkle Rd. Pricing included town and country lights, gas replica on decorative poles and gas replica on fiberglass poles. Prices ranged from $7935 to $25,364. The original estimate called for fifteen lights at a cost of close to $35,000. It was believed fifteen would be too many as the area does have three existing overhead lights. The new lights would be mercury vapor as sodium lights give off an orange light. The possibility of putting lights further down Shinkle Road, past Lookout Farm Drive is also being discussed, although action may not take place until after the new fiscal year begins. Mr. Meier made the motion that the City contract ULH&P to install ten town and country lights on Shinkle Road from Lookout Farm Drive to Lookout Farm Drive at a cost of $8276.91, seconded by Mr. Drummey.

Motion Approved

Yes 4 No 0 Absent 2

Discussion followed on the gas light replica being the choice of many Lookout Farm residents. Mr. Meier justified council’s decision by mentioning that the area already has some town and country lights and staying with the same would give it a more uniform look with continuity of lighting. Mr. Meier stated that he hopes residents do not get a false sense of security and think walking down the sidewalk at any hour of the night will be safe.

Vote Call:

Mr. Laird - Yes, Mrs. Sensel - Yes, Mr. Drummey - Yes, Mr. Meier - Yes.

NEW BUSINESS

A) I-71 Corridor Study: Mr. Celarek gave a presentation on the I-71 Corridor study and encouraged all to attend public meetings in the area. The following six options have been selected for further consideration in phase 2: highway widening alternative, transportation system management alternative, high occupancy vehicle lanes, busway, light rail transit alternative, and a no build alternative.

At the conclusion of phase 2, the six options will be reduced to three to five, and the alignments will also be reduced. The remaining options and alignments will then be analyzed in even greater detail in phase 3 of the study which will take place from Spring, 1996 through early 1997. The options were presented as follows:

1. Transportation System Management - would include an expansion of the current bus system, transportation demand management programs such as carpooling and telecommuting, and traffic engineering. This alternative would expand bus service in areas that are currently unserved or under-served.

2. High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes- are roadways with specific lanes that are reserved during all or part of the day for use by vehicles with two or more persons. HOV lanes normally are constructed as part of a new existing roadway that serves general purpose traffic. Most existing freeway HOV lanes can be classified into one of three categories: concurrent flow, contraflow and exclusive. Concurrent flow HOV lanes are otherwise normal freeway lanes that are marked and posted to prohibit use by ineligible vehicles. Contraflow HOV lanes are created by borrowing a lane that is normally used for general purpose traffic moving in the other direction. Exclusive HOV lanes are usually located in the median of a freeway, separated from the general purpose traffic lanes, usually with some type of physical barrier.

3. Light Rail Transit - is an urban railway which is powered by electricity. This alternative used predominately exclusive right-of-way and operates in various combinations of street right-of-way and railroad right-of-way.

4. Busway Alternative - An exclusive lane or roadway for use by uses only, using several possible combinations of freeway medians, abandoned rail corridors and city streets.

5. Highway Widening - Option A: simply widen the existing I-75/I-71 corridor, Option B: reroute I-71 traffic along I-275 to I-471.

6. No Build Option - do nothing.

B) TKR Cable & Boone Kenton Cable Board

Discussion was held regarding the reforming of the Board. It technically does not exist at the time, which is why TKR Cable sent franchise fee checks directly to the cities. However, the Board is still in the process of negotiating a new franchise agreement. The hang up at the moment seems to be the public access channel.

Mr. Wehrman informed council that some cities sent copies of the interlocal agreement rather than the originals, which the Attorney General insists upon. This is in the process of being corrected. Most cities in Northern Kentucky have contracted with the Board to conduct negotiations on their behalf. The Board will be in existence soon and if they are not currently legally the City’s agent, then the Board is in fact the City’s agent.

Mr. Meier suggested sending the Cable Board it’s fee of 1.25% but Mr. Laird objected saying he believed all monies should be held for at least thirty days to see what transpires. Mr. Laird made a motion to hold all monies for thirty days and make a decision at next month’s council meeting, seconded by Mr. Meier.

Motion Approved

Yes 4 No 0 Absent 2

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Mr. Meier reported that the Police Authority has hired a new officer that has undergone several weeks of training and is now going through the academy. He should be ready for full time scheduling in the first half of March.

Adjournment

Motion to adjourn at 8:57PM by Mr. Laird, seconded by Mr. Drummey.

Respectfully submitted:

___________________________	___________________________
Harold A. Ries, Mayor	C.R. Monhollen, Clerk