Alexandria pressing auto shop owner in court

Written by Chris Mayhew with The Alexandria Recorder • Apr. 8, 2013:

Alexandria pressing auto shop owner in court

Written by Chris Mayhew • Apr. 8, 2013

ALEXANDRIA — Disagreement about the pace of repairs at an Alexandria auto repair shop damaged by fire April 6, 2012, has the city and shop owner in a legal fight.

Charles “Bud” Gilbert, owner of Advanced Auto Services, was in Campbell County District Court in Newport Friday, April 5, for an arraignment hearing on charges of violating two city ordinances.

Gilbert is charged with a violating the city’s nuisances ordinance and the blighted or deteriorated property ordinance.

The citation report, issued by Alexandria Police Dec. 3, 2012, alleged inoperable motor vehicles were parked in front of the business. The report stated several vehicles had flat tires and motors missing, and one truck hadn’t been moved in two weeks without being worked on. The report went on to state that there were “spare automotive parts lying around structure of building including old tires, transmissions, drive shafts, body parts of vehicles, etc.”

The same report alleged no attempt to clean up or repair the property had been made as of Dec. 3 since the building burned on April 6.

Gilbert told District Court Judge Karen A. Thomas he thought the reasons for the court case had been resolved.

“I don’t understand how it’s not worked out,” Gilbert said.

Thomas said the case had not been resolved, and it will be continued for a pretrial conference at 2 p.m. April 16.

“We’ll go from there,” she said.

The city will be consulted for an update prior to April 16, Thomas said.

Alexandria Mayor Bill Rachford said he’s not happy with the pace of progress of repairs at the shop, and that there has been no mediation yet.

“He’s making progress, probably as slowly as possible,” Rachford said. “He doesn’t seem to do anything on a cooperative basis.”

Rachford said the city will follow any process set out by the court and pursue legal options to force Gilbert to make all repairs required by city code.

“If he doesn’t comply after the mediation session on the 16th, I will pull his occupational license and shut him down,” Rachford said.

Rachford said he has no desire to shut the business down and put Gilbert’s employees out of work, but will do so if it is the only way to get the repairs done. Threats of action by the city are the only thing that seem to get work going at the shop – which is still not in compliance, Rachford said.

Gilbert was also not present at a March 8 court hearing in the case, Rachford said.

Gilbert said he strongly disagrees with the city’s view that repairs are taking too long.

“Everything they've wanted me to do, I’ve done with the exception of getting the garage doors on,” he said.

A new roof has been installed, and the parking lot in front has been striped with yellow paint, Gilbert said. Other businesses don’t have parking lot spaces striped, but that the city has required it of him, Gilbert said.

Gilbert said he has explained to the city the garage doors ordered in February were supposed to be already installed. The garage door installer has now agreed to have them installed by April 30, he said.

Gilbert said he has not worked on a car in the front parking lot since the day the city wrote him a ticket in the lot for doing so. The city ordinances do allow for flat tires to be changed in the front lot, he said.

Gilbert said the city knew repairs were not being made at the auto shop for the first six months after the fire because he thought he had the property sold. The property sale fell through, and by then it was winter, he said.

“You can’t put a roof on when it is snowing and raining,” Gilbert said.

Gilbert said the burned portion of the building will be ready to be reopened for business by May 5, and the city has not been fair.

City officials act like Alexandria is Beverly Hills and Main Street is Beverly Hills Drive, he said.

“There’s a building that’s boarded up on Beverly Hills Drive that’s been that way for years,” Gilbert said.

Bishop Brossart expansion under way

Article written by Brenna R. Kelly • Apr. 7, 2013 for The Alexandria Recorder -

Bishop Brossart expansion under way

Written by Brenna R. Kelly • Apr. 7, 2013

ALEXANDRIA — The large hole in the ground that will greet Bishop Brossart High School students when they return from spring break today is more than a hole – it’s proof that a long-awaited expansion of the Catholic high school is a reality.

The $7.5 million expansion will include a chapel, a 425-seat auditorium, library, fine arts studio, music room and other upgrades.

“It basically fills in a lot of the things we’ve been missing,” said Richard Stewart, principal of the 359-student school.

The school, one of two Catholic high schools in Campbell County, has been planning to expand since the mid-1990s, he said. But plans were delayed by a moratorium on building in the county and among other things.

“There were just a lot of things along the way that got in the way of the school being able to move forward,” he said.

When Stewart became principal four years ago, he was tasked with making the expansion happen.

The school already had $3 million in place, it then began appealing to alumni and other supporters.

The school now has just under $8 million in cash and pledges, said Roger Keller, a fund-raising committee co-chairman and 1965 graduate.

“The community has really responded to the needs of Bishop Brossart High School,” he said. “And I’m talking about the normal working person.”

Keller credits Stewart with energizing the Brossart community.

“He has really electrified the community and school to inspire us and say ‘hey, come on,’” he said. “It’s been a great journey here. ”

Crews began excavating the site of the addition about two weeks ago. Today the school will hold a ceremonial ground breaking with Bishop Roger Foys and Alexandria Mayor Bill Rachford scheduled to attend.

The project will take 12 to 14 months to complete. It is expected to be open by the 2014-15 school year.

For the first time the school will have a chapel where the classes will attend a weekly mass.

But because the chapel will only seat about 125 people, students will still have to walk to St. Mary’s Church – 10 minutes away – for monthly all-school masses, Stewart said.

The new auditorium will be able to hold all-school assemblies and school plays which are now held in the gym, he said.

There will also be new restroom facilities, new faculty rooms, a college counseling center and new administrative offices.

The school’s offices are now in a space that was designed for two classrooms.

Once the offices move, the school will be able to turn the area back into classroom space, he said.

While enrollment has held steady at around 350 students for several years, the expansion will position the school for growth, Stewart said.

The school serves the parishes of St. John, St. Joseph (Camp Springs), St. Joseph (Cold Spring), Sts. Peter and Paul, St. Philip and St. Mary.

Many expected a population boom in southern Campbell County starting in 2007 when a 11-year development moratorium was lifted after a new sewer plant opened.

But the boom went bust.

“Unfortunately, as soon as the moratorium was lifted was pretty much when the economy tanked,” Stewart said.

As the economy picks back up, the population growth that had been predicted in the southern end of the county may become reality.

“One of things, we’re really looking forward to is being in a position where we can take advantage of that,” Stewart said. “We have all the new facilities in place, and we can jump into that with both feet.”

Future plans include a sports complex off-campus on Gilbert Ridge Road.

The school used about $70,000 from the expansion project to grade two football and soccer practice fields at the site.

The bright future of the school is something Keller, whose grandson will start at Brossart next year, is happy to see.

“It’s always the stigma out there that Bishop Brossart is a country school,” he said.

“It really isn’t. It’s a lot more than that, people don‘t really understand what it is. The unique thing about Brossart is it’s not too big, people really get to be friends and you keep them.”

Source: http://nky.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20130408/NEWS0103/304080028/

Alexandria park ballfield ready for play

 Article published by Chris Mayew in The Alexandria Recorder

Alexandria park ballfield ready for play

Disc golf course in the works

Written by Chris Mayhew • Apr. 5, 2013

  

ALEXANDRIA — For Alexandria, Bishop Brossart High School has helped the city create a softball and baseball field more equipped for dreams with a home run fence and dugouts.

The quality of the work by Bishop Brossart at the field, including rebuilding the dugout and backstop, has been excellent, said Mayor Bill Rachford.

Permanent fencing has been installed down the foul lines, and a removable home run fence has been installed in the outfield, Rachford said.

Beyond the physical improvements to the field, the partnership has brought success, he said.

“Last year, we had virtually no use of that field, and this year the schedule is full,” Rachford said.

Ron Heiert, development director for Bishop Brossart, said the city and school have had a good working relationship and the school’s coaches are excited about the new field. The field will be the home for Bishop Brossart’s softball teams.

Alexandria’s Park and Recreation Board applauded the improvements at the April 3 meeting.

Park update

The park board also set a list of budget priorities for the park for the new fiscal year starting July 1, and talked about ongoing work to create a nine-hole disc golf course at the park.

Disc golf uses a plastic disc and metal baskets and uses rules similar to golf.

Board member Pam Proctor said a volunteer has completed three disc golf fairways and is still working on creating the others.

The board members agreed to set an ideal deadline of July 1 to have the course completed in time for an August disc golf tournament to be organized by disc golfers in association with the city.

The board also discussed and agreed to send the mayor an ideal budget comprising $18,500 worth of spending on park infrastructure and events.

The park board’s current budget is $10,000, but the 2011-12’ budget was $20,000.

Board chairperson Jeremy Toy said the $1,500 cost to host two movie nights in the park is one area that could be cut if needed, since it was not in the previous year’s budget.

“If you don’t ask, you won’t get it,” said board member Steve Hamberg.

Source:  http://nky.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20130405/NEWS0103/304050089/

Mega Development on the Way

 Article in the Alexandria Recorder by Chris Mayhew:

 Arcadia plans updated as development grows

Road access with Tollgate Road can wait under agreement

Written by Chris Mayhew • Apr. 5, 2013

ALEXANDRIA — Council is preparing to review and potentially approve a new development plan with the expected annexation of 46 additional acres for the Arcadia 1,018-unit housing development April 18.

The city’s Planning and Zoning Commission recommended on April 2 for council to approve Planned Unit Development (PUD) zoning for the 46 additional acres and acceptance of the new development plan. PUD is the same zoning as the other 327-acres where Arcadia is being built. Arcadia is a joint development of the Drees Co. and Fischer Homes on land between U.S. 27 and Tollgate Road. A mixture of single-family homes, patio homes, condominiums and town homes are planned in Arcadia and is scheduled to take about 10 years to complete. Arcadia was first announced in 2005 with 916 housing units.

The Planning and Zoning Commission also imposed stipulations the developers agreed to, most notably when a secondary access road from the subdivision to Tollgate Road has to be built. The main access to the subdivision will be from U.S. 27 at Pat Fanning Way.

The three ordinances council will vote upon April 18 cover zoning, annexation for the 46-acres and approval of an updated development plan for the entire property.

The development plan recommended by the commission will dictate the developers do not need to build an access road to Tollgate Road until either 805 housing units are completed or 79 percent of the development is complete. The road also has to be built once construction begins on the additional 46-acre parcel that is near Tollgate Road.

Mike Schottelkotte, a representative of the Drees Co., said the joint venture Tollgate Land Development LLC, between Drees and Fischer Homes owns the 51-acres of land where an access road to Tollgate Road can be built.

There have been conversations with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet about where to join a new access road with Tollgate Road, Schottelkotte said.

There is still the possibility to purchase another piece of property that will allow the access road to intersect directly across from Breckenridge Drive, which is the preference, he said.

Mayor Bill Rachford said the preliminary plat for the 76-home Whistler’s Point subdivision Fischer Homes plans off Persimmon Grove Pike, was approved at the April 2 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.

The Arcadia and Whistler’s Point news shows the developers’ optimism in the economy, Rachford said. The two developments “getting going” are also big news for the city, he said.

The 1,018 housing units in Arcadia alone, will grow the city dramatically, Rachford said.

“That’s at least a quarter or a third of the city as it exists now,” he said.

Source: http://nky.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20130405/NEWS0103/304050149/

“Christmas in Alexandria” – Complete Report?

We couldn’t wait to see last Thursday’s (Thursday, February 7, 2013) Council’s meeting on local access cable.

This is when the mayor promised a complete report on “Christmas in Alexandria”.

It comes as no surprise that the complete report was well, less than complete.

It was more of a mutual admiration society, recognize and heap accolades on the organizers and volunteers, let’s have a big group hug and sing Kumbaya.

Noticeably missing were any reports on the financials of the event.

There is a whole lot more required for a full report; such as how much money was raised and where did it go.

If you may recall this started out as an event that would be held at Village Green Shopping Center to benefit local businesses and with all profits going to charity.

It morphed into a change of venue and a somewhat a change in purpose.

We fail to see where it benefited a few if any city businesses.

It seems that the vast majority of vendors were from outside the city or outside the county for that matter.

We believe that the citizens of Alexandria are entitled to a full financial report and disclosure on this event.

After all, approximately $4500.00 of taxpayer’s money was earmarked for this event by the city’s elected officials.

After the austerity budget and a 4% increase in the property tax rate for the current budget cycle we feel an elected official’s pet project should not receive a dime of feel-good taxpayer’s money.

We hope that city council will not approve a new budget that includes an expenditure for something like this.

By now you have some elected officials that claim they didn’t know this was in the budget that they approved. It is one of their duties to know what is in the budget.

To be kind, the non-profit corporation that threw “Christmas in Alexandria, has received initial seed money and should have made enough to finance their next event. If not the city should not finance a looser project again regardless of what some elected officials want.

Some on council are already talking about how the city can increase revenues for the next budget cycle.

Watch out business owners:

We think you are going to be hearing more about a gross receipts tax that you were told has been forgotten about; and the property owner should not rule out the possibility of another 4% increase in the property tax rate.

A tip for property owners:

By the way the city may increase property tax rates up to 4% per year with no input or approval from you.

And to be fair, your newest council member did not take office until after all of this took place.

Cui Bono?

Cui Bono in Latin means “Who benefits?” It’s a principle that probable responsibility for an act or event lies with one having something to gain

What is a misuse of public funds? The starting point for any analysis concerning the misuse of public funds begins with the principle that public funds must be expended for an authorized public purpose. An expenditure is made for a public purpose when its purpose is to benefit the public interest rather than private individuals or private purposes.

The misuse of public funds occurs when the personal benefit conferred by a public expenditure is not merely incidental. The term “public funds” is not limited to money, but includes anything of value belonging to a public agency such as equipment, supplies, compensated staff time, and use of telephones, computers, and fax machines and other equipment and resources.

The city administration is poised to donate (we understand that it’s already committed) $8,477.00 of the taxpayer’s monies to a 501(c) 3 entity which created and is planning to have a month long “Christmas in Alexandria” celebration at the Village Green Shopping Center.

This is a collaboration of at least one elected city official and a city merchant.

What is the purpose of this event? If you answered, “advance self-serving commercial interests” go to the head of the class.

In this era of scarce resources for the city (or really at any time) this is a flagrant misuse of taxpayer’s money (and possibly illegal).

If merchants want to throw this celebration which is in their best interests then we say go for it but don’t ask the taxpayer to help finance it. Pay for it yourself just like any other advertising.

We know we will hear that this is all for charity but if they pull it off the taxpayer will still be out the $8,477.00 that at least one elected official wants the city to kick in. We’ll see if the rest of our elected officials support this and play loose with taxpayer’s monies. If they do, shame on them.

The city is already cutting $10,000.00 out of the budget that would discontinue funding dental insurance for all employees but funding this debacle instead.

Fix pot holes, finance the police department, provide for the health, safety and welfare of the citizens but don’t spend one dime of the taxpayer’s money to help finance this pie in the sky, feel good, self aggrandizing scheme.

Our take on the Police Merger Study

The past three posts:

Police Merger Study Cancellation Letter

Report cites management, morale issues in Campbell PD

Police study details morale issues

We were skeptical from the very beginning about this issue.

Any reasonable observer could tell you what an honest study would reveal.

Our primary concern during this process was would the study be honest or would Judge-Executive Steve Pendry get the results he wanted since he was funding this through taxpayer funds.

We wonder if he was surprised when the consultants called it like it was. He shouldn’t have been. He has been aware of these issues for several years and has refused to rise to the occasion, be strong, take control and make the hard choices that must be made if this sad state-of-affairs is ever going to change.

He’s spinning the results in his Police Merger Study Cancellation Letter by saying “Seventy-one percent of 417 respondents to the consultants’ online survey said they were satisfied with the current level of police services provided by either the county or Alexandria. Nearly 80 percent of 399 respondents said current police services matched the community’s needs”.

We have obtained a copy of the study and in regards to interpreting the results of the survey the consultants have this to say;

The online survey was developed to provide opportunities for citizen input; the survey, as it was constructed, was not intended to be representative of Alexandria residents or Campbell County (non-Alexandria) residents. Moreover, one cannot generalize the survey results back to the respective populations. Quantifying results of the survey is problematic; in no way should the aggregated results of the survey items-the individual questions-be construed as being indicative of the sentiments or attitudes of the citizens of Alexandria, Campbell County, or any group as a whole.

On the issue of “Performance Standards” which are in place within the Campbell County Police Department (CCPD) the consultants write;

As they are presently construed, it appears that CCPD assigns quotas to its patrol officers. Without embarking on a long discussion of the evolution of police practices in the United States, or discussing the associated perils of quantifying police stops, arrests or the like, it is still necessary to discuss the implications of quotas on the moral of the department and the perception of the general public. In the case of intra-departmental concern, assignment of quotas for objective behaviors ostensibly removes discretion from officers; removal of discretion is problematic in that it confines an officer to only a limited set of reactions to contact with an infraction or criminal event. The result of the interaction is very frequently dissatisfaction on the part of the officer and confusion and/or anger on the part of the private citizen with whom the encounter centered. For a variety of scenarios that could and likely have played themselves out, quotas are an antiquated practice of a bygone era of policing; contemporaneous utilization of quotas is not advised. Labeling them as something other that what they are is likewise a poor policy choice that assumes that subordinates and the general public are not capable of understanding what is in practice.

On “Transfers” or turnover at CCPD the consultants say in part;

CCPD has lost eight (8) officers to other agencies since 2003; three (3) others have left with unknown dispositions.

In the law enforcement community, turnover rate is a commonly accepted barometer of the conditions at a department.

Interviews suggest that CCPD’s internal culture under present leadership is a primary contributor to the turnover.

We suggest that CCPD and the Fiscal Court consider the turnover rate as a bell ringing.

The Alexandria Police Department (APD) has only had three transfers during the same reporting period. This was later corrected to one (1). While the two agencies differ in size – obviously a key factor in describing retention of incumbent officers – it should be noted clearly that APD has a remarkably high retention / low turnover rate.

A low turnover supports other data that suggests APD enjoys an environment and other circumstances that officers do not look to greener pastures often.

Low turnover and high retention factors considerably in reducing the expenses of hiring, training and equipping new officers.

APD personnel are self-actualized and confident in their organization; with no exception, APD articulated confidence in leadership and comfort the culture of the agency

Other comments of consequence in the study are;

Campbell County should consider engaging a management study based upon;

• Profound morale issues within its ranks,

• Leadership that does not appear to either be concerned about morale issues or does not understand them for what they are, and

• Persistence of these issues over an extended period of time that have not be addressed or rectified.

Elected officials within Campbell County should be aware of the issues within the police department and should avail themselves of the opportunity to address the issues substantively. CCPD has a strong, well-trained complement of officers who carry themselves in a professional manner and, based upon our interaction and citizen responses, are terrified of running afoul of leadership at the department.

Alexandria Police Department enjoys high morale, places a priority on community policing and has strong leadership in place.

Citizen responses indicate that there is a persistent concern of Alexandria residents that merger might cause their present level of services to be diluted or changed.

Intuitively, the City should be cautious of merger with another agency that would introduce issues that APD does not presently have.

The study consists of 31 pages not including the survey results. We have only hit the highlights and summarized here. But it begs the question; “What were they thinking?”

Judge-Executive Steve Pendery knows what’s going on. It’s been going on for a number of years. He’s had CCPD officer’s wives attend Fiscal Court meetings and publicly present grievances and pleadings on this issue.

We can only conclude that he does not have the fortitude to tackle this issue and tried to find some easy way to get rid of his problem.

Alexandria officials took the bait and came perilously close to making a major mistake for its citizens.

Alexandria officials failed to listen to the citizens from the get-go and stubbornly plodded forward wasting a year only to have consultants’ finally tell them what they were hearing from the community all the time.

Should Alexandria’s officials have been aware of the problems with the CCPD? Sure they should and they were. They should have never taken the City on this journey.

Police Merger Study Cancellation Letter

The letter by Campbell County Judge-Executive Steve Pendry to Alexandria Mayor Bill Rachford dated May 15, 2012 and read at Alexandria’s Council Meeting on Thursday, May 17, 2012 announcing the early cancellation of the study.

Report cites management, morale issues in Campbell PD

This is the second article to hit the internet on Tuesday, May 29, 2012 and appeared in print in The Kentucky Enquirer on Page 1, Wednesday, May 30, 2012.

Report cites management, morale issues in Campbell PD

Written by Amanda Van Benschoten • 7:56 PM, May. 29, 2012

Citing management issues and low morale within the Campbell County Police Department, two independent consultants have recommended against a proposed merger with the Alexandria Police Department.

The county and city had been exploring a potential merger since October, but the county shelved the idea two weeks ago. Documents recently obtained by The Enquirer shed more light onto that decision.

“Merger may be a sound public policy choice, but its benefits and likely some of its problems are all but completely obscured by the morale and leadership issues at CCPD,” the consultants concluded in a report dated April 22. “Until the issues with CCPD are acknowledged and resolved, merger would be similar to diving into muddy water, uncertain of the depth and objects below the surface.”

The consultants, David Hobson and Lee Ann Morrison from Richmond, Ky., have law enforcement experience. They conducted one-on-one interviews with sworn and non-sworn personnel in both departments, interviewed departmental leaders as well as local elected and appointed officials, and conducted an unscientific online survey to gather community input.

They found “profound morale issues” within the ranks of the county police department, including a lack of confidence in leadership and a perception among the rank-and-file that their issues are not being addressed, according to the report.

A central issue is officers’ dissatisfaction with “performance standards” which require them to conduct five business checks and two vacation checks each week. Officers are also required to write at least two tickets per week, though officials shy away from the use of the word “quota.”

“The idea is to get them thinking about the kinds of things a good cop would be doing,” Campbell County Judge-executive Steve Pendery said. “In the public imagination, when you hear the word ‘quota’, you’re thinking about tickets and you’re thinking about an officer writing a whole lot of them. But in Kentucky, local governments don’t get money from tickets we write.”

Pendery said the issues raised in the consultants’ report have not affected the level of police service provided to the public. The 32-person department serves unincorporated Campbell County and communities not served by other agencies; in 2011, it responded to 44,654 calls for service.

“We have an issue that needs to be addressed, but I have faith in the professionalism of our guys, including the command staff, that this is not resulting in poor service for the community,” Pendery said. “And that faith is bolstered by the fact that we haven’t been getting complaints about any problems in our relationship with the public.”

Seventy-one percent of 417 respondents to the consultants’ online survey said they were satisfied with the current level of police services provided by either the county or Alexandria. Nearly 80 percent of 399 respondents said current police services matched the community’s needs.

Pendery said county officials will work to address the issues raised in the report and have already reached out to a professional police trainer experienced in management issues.

“We’ll come up with a prescription for what needs to be done and do it,” he said.

The feasibility study found few issues with the 16-person Alexandria Police Department, though the consultants identified “cultural differences” between the two departments that could provide another barrier to a merger.

The report said Alexandria “promotes officer discretion and community policing through proactive problem solving,” while Campbell County “takes a more traditionalist approach and conveys a more rigid orientation with public interaction.”

Police study details morale issues

This is the first article to hit the internet on Tuesday, May 29, 2012 and appeared in print in the Alexandria Recorder on Page 1, Thursday, May 31, 2012

Police study details morale issues

Written by Chris Mayhew • 11:57 AM, May. 29, 2012

ALEXANDRIA — While disagreeing with some of the findings, Judge-executive Steve Pendery still heeded the advice of a consultant’s report about the Campbell County Police Department that suggested ending merger talks with the Alexandria Police Department.

Morale and leadership issues at the county police department were going to obscure any further pursuit of a merger with the Alexandria Police Department, according to the conclusion of an independent consultant’s 31-page report.

Alexandria publicly released the report Friday, May 24.

Alexandria and Campbell County hired David Hobson and Lee Ann Morrison out of Richmond, Ky., in October to study the two police departments. The consultants interviewed police officers, elected officials and select community members and reviewed both departments’ records as part of their work.

Pendery ended the merger talks with Alexandria in a May 17 letter to Alexandria Mayor Bill Rachford after hearing the results of the consultants’ report in April.

The consultants recommended that the county engage in a management study because of issues including “profound moral issues within its ranks” and that officers are “terrified of running afoul of leadership at the department.”

The report also recommends that elected officials should be aware of issues within the police department and “take the opportunity to address them substantively.”

The consultants listed the county’s performance standards as a cause for frequent dissatisfaction on the part of officers and citizens. The consultants say in the report that the county’s performance standards are “quotas” and “an antiquated practice of a bygone era of policing.”

Labeling them as standards, or something other than quotas is a poor policy choice and assumes subordinates and the public are not capable of understanding what is in practice, according to the consultants’ report.

Pendery said he does not agree with the consultants on the issue of performance standards, and does not agree the policy is the cause for a moral issue.

“We are going to address the situation, and I’m not going to get into details,” he said. “We are already addressing the situation by reaching out to outside experts and so far they agree with us that these are not quotas.”

Performance standards primarily require officers to do security checks of businesses, and vacation checks, he said. Officers are also supposed to write one ticket every other shift, and officers work four shifts in a seven day week, he said.

“When the public hears the word quota they think that someone is there is writing tickets left and right,” he said.

That’s not what is happening, and money from writing all tickets goes to the state and not the county, Pendery said.

Campbell County Police Department Chief Keith Hill did not immediately respond to a voice message requesting comment about the the consolidation study.

Concerning Alexandria’s police department, the report said, “(The) Alexandria Police Department enjoys high morale, places a priority on community policing, and has strong leadership in place.”

The consultants go on to point out Alexandria is stretched thin in resources and personnel, and a merger would benefit the department by providing more resources and an opportunity for more specialization. The consultants conclude that Alexandria “has little other reason to merge.”

The consultants’ report lists negative issues pertaining to Alexandria including the appearance the department is a “top heavy” on management, and being “too soft” in its policing approach.

Alexandria Police Chief Mike Ward took issue with the department being “too soft.”

“We have an unwritten policy of ‘We’d rather talk for an hour than fight for a minute,’” Ward said.. “I challenge anyone to review our use of force reports, which would support this statement.”

Police merger study comes to an end

We will be posting the following documents in the next few days:

 

Study details morale issues

Report brings an end to merger talks

Appeared in the Alexandria Recorder on Page 1, Thursday, May 31, 2012

 

Report cites poor moral at Campbell County Police

Merger shelved with force in Alexandria

Appeared in The Kentucky Enquirer on Page 1, Wednesday, May 30, 2012

 

These articles also appeared on the web a few days before appearing in the publications credited but since links change or disappear we will be printing the documents in lieu of links.

We will also post the letter by Campbell County Judge-Executive Steve Pendry to Alexandria Mayor Bill Rachford dated May 15, 2012 and read at Alexandria’s Council Meeting on Thursday, May 17, 2012 announcing the early cancellation of the study.

 

Following the posting of these documents we will be giving you our take on this issue.

Merger On My Mind

On the topic of a possible merger of Alexandria’s Police Department and the Campbell County Police Department.

Could it be that the county has been seeking a partner for several years now?

Could it be that the candidacy of Wilder Police Chief Tony Rouse for Sheriff had a merger with the Sherriff’s Department in mind (along with the Judge-Executive Steve Pendry) had he been elected?

Could it be that Judge-Executive Steve Pendry approached Alexandria’s ex-mayor Dan McGinley about the possibility of a merger?

Could it be that ex-mayor McGinley rebuffed this idea?

Could it be that Judge-Executive Steve Pendry recognized that newly elected, inexperienced and unprepared current Mayor Bill Rachford was a newbie, stroked his ego and found a sympathetic ear?

Could it be that a city employee helped advance (and still is) the merger idea to the new mayor?

Could it be that someone who may presently be involved in police work could be filled with ambition and is excited about the possibility of heading up a new combined, merged or Police Authority?

One thing we do know is that there is turmoil (and has been for quite some time) within the Campbell County Police Department and the Judge-Executive instead of taking the bull-by-the-horns and putting an end to the nonsense has indeed tried to find a scheme whereby he could get the county out of the Police Department business.

Top management at the Campbell County Police Department is responsible for this turmoil and the Judge-Executive cannot or will not man-up and make the hard decisions that would end this problem.

Alexandria has a top-shelf police department and we hope that Alexandria’s leadership does not take the bait regardless of what glowing report is received from the so-called expert consultants of the county’s choosing and soundly reject this self-serving merger idea from the county.

Alexandria should keep its known entity and allow the county to wallow in its own problems or solve them on its own.

Council Member Joe Anderson does Public Relations and gives Tips and Advice

After watching the last couple of council meetings on Insight does anyone else get the feeling that Council Member Joe Anderson is the Public Relations Spokesman for Alexandria’s Bowling Alley?

He gets the floor and goes on and on and on about a Christmas promotion that they have going on.

If that’s not enough he announces a training session that he read about in the newspaper that is going to be held at the Alexandria Community Center for Emergency Management personnel as being open to the general public.

Following Council Member Anderson’s announcement, Alexandria Police Chief Mike Ward explained what the program is about and that it is not open to the general public. Anderson then wants to argue the point.

We don’t quite know what to make of Council Member Anderson and his stream of, it seems, never ending public service announcements and tips and advice to the citizens toward the end of every council meeting. Just think how much more of a snoozer it would be if every business in town would like to get a plug at council meetings.

Perhaps Council Member Anderson should read Alexandria's form of Government for a refresher on what is the job of a council member.

Pawn Shop coming to town? (Revised)

We are pleased to report that the original post of Monday, October 17, 2011 has now shown to be incorrect as it pertains to a pawn shop coming to town.

According to an article posted today by Jeff McKinney on nky.com, Quick-Cash Inc., traditionally a pawn shop, has cut out the pawning portion of its operation in order to open a location at 8242 Alexandria Pike.

John Wischer, general manager for Quick-Cash, said the Alexandria location is the company's first store in Northern Kentucky and Southeast Indiana that focuses on buying and selling gold, silver and platinum items and does not offer pawn loans in exchange for goods. Alexandria zoning laws do not permit pawn shops within city limits.

He said the buy-and-sell concept store is what differentiates the store from Quick-Cash's other traditional pawn shop locations.

Wischer said the 1,740-square-foot store next to an Ameristop also purchases and sells new and used consumer electronics, game systems, tools, musical instruments, laptops and DVDs. Wischer said sellers can check out the company's buy policy at www.getmoreformygold.com.

Highland Heights ends police merger

The following story was written by Jeff McKinney on November 15, 2011 and posted at nky.cincinnati.com. Go to the link and read the comments that have been posted there.

Highland Heights ends police merger

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS – Highland Heights City Council unanimously agreed Tuesday to withdraw the city from the Highland Heights Southgate Police Authority.

The 6-0 vote will end a three-year merger agreement between the police departments of Highland Heights and Southgate.

The cities entered into the agreement to combine the departments in 2008, but Highland Heights had a first reading to exit the authority Nov. 1.

Council’s action means that Highland Heights will give Southgate a 90-day notification that it’s dissolving the authority tied to the interlocal agreement, Highland Heights Mayor Greg Meyers said.

Meyers said the city is disbanding mainly because residents have expressed to council and himself they’re not comfortable with the authority. He said residents contend they are not getting the level of service they were getting from the Highland Heights Police Department.

The cities entered the merger to find efficiencies and save money, but a larger-than-anticipated call volume from Southgate is leading to resident complaints of poorer service, driving the push for a split, Highland Heights officials said.

Meyers expects Highland Heights to form its own police department within three months.

Steve Franzen, city attorney for Highland Heights and board attorney for HHSPA, said a specific date has not been set when the merger will end.

Southgate Mayor Jim Hamberg said Tuesday night, “Our city is looking forward to developing the new Southgate Police Department.”

In other action, Meyers and Highland Heights presented a proclamation and a clock gift to Dave Shaw, the city’s planner from 1994 until his retirement in September. Shaw was honored for his efforts in preparing the city’s comprehensive plan and update during the past decade that set the tone for the city’s growth and development.

Highland Heights, Southgate move to end police department merger

According to an article by Jeff McKinney published on the front page of The Kentucky Enquirer Thursday, November 03, 2011 Highland Heights City Council held a first reading on a measure to withdraw the city from a three-year-old police merger with the City of Southgate.

To paraphrase the article, the merger created a board containing representatives from both cities to oversee the entity.

Among the reasons cited for Highland Heights disbanding the Highland Heights Southgate Police Authority (HHSPA) according to Highland Heights Mayor Greg Meyers is because the residents of Highland Heights do not believe they are receiving the level of service that they had before its creation. Highland Heights council is expected to have a second reading and take a final vote to end the merger November 15. Southgate Mayor Jim Hambeg and Southgate’s Safety Committee have been notified of Highland Heights intent to end the merger.

Meyers said that the HHSPA has an annual budget of slightly more than $2 million dollars and that Highland Heights contributes 60 percent and Southgate 40 percent. The allocation is based on the cities' populations, numbers of businesses each have and the number of police calls made to residents and businesses in each.

Each city would again form their own police departments and divide up the assets, such as cars, between them.

Here are some relevant quotes summarized from the article:

Highland Heights City Attorney Steve Franzen:

The merger dissolution is disappointing as the cities hoped to save some money and increase efficiencies of delivering police service, but it did not happen.

Highland Heights Mayor Greg Meyers:

The merger did lower labor costs, but both cities had fewer police officers to protect a larger combined territory.

It's not a pleasant thing to be doing, but it's the correct move for our citizen services.

Southgate Mayor Jim Hamberg:

The dissolution would be an opportunity for Southgate to reform its police department, sets it own policies and go back to being a community police department for the residents of Southgate.

Some Southgate residents informed me and council members periodically that they were not seeing cruisers as frequently as they used to before the merger.

The entire Enquirer article can be found by clicking here

We hope the leaders of the City of Alexandria look hard and long at this and take these lessons into consideration before they make a decision to enter into some sort of Alexandria-Campbell County Merge. They need to ask themselves if:

1. Would this result in better police services for the citizens of Alexandria.

1. Would this result in a lowering of property tax rates for the tax payers of Alexandria.

We understand that this idea was brought forth by Campbell County and is being maneuvered along with the help of a few other individuals that are truly too close to the issue. The county has contracted for an “independent study” on the merits of a merger. We suspect that the county will get the results that they would like but residents of the city that we have talked to and heard from universally feel that any merger would not be in their best interests while bailing the county out of some uncomfortable issues concerning their own police department.

We would like to see this idea go away. If the county feels that they have problems that a merger would solve for them they should instead take the bull by the horns and straighten out those problems without dragging the City of Alexandria along with them.

We hope there are not but could there be some egos and agendas within the city driving this?

We cannot see any increase in efficiencies, service levels or cost benefits for the citizens of Alexandria should a merger come to pass. We can see advantages for the county.

Unlike Highland Heights and Southgate which both consider themselves losers in their merger there will definitely be a winner and a loser if Alexandria/Campbell County merges, regardless of what the “study” says.

Pawn Shop coming to town?

Overheard at the local Ameristop in the Town and Country Shopping Center, “we just can’t wait until the new pawn shop opens in our shopping center” and that the mayor had recently stopped by to sign paperwork that would permit it.

We have been told that if this is so, it will be contrary to the city’s zoning ordinances.

EDITED THURSDAY, DECEMBER 01, 2011

New Business Tax in Alexandria’s Future?

There will be if Council Member Scott Fleckenger has his way according to a video of Alexandria’s Tuesday, October 6, 2011, Council Meeting that is now running on Insight Cable Channel 16.

Mr. Fleckenger is proposing that council set a rate for a Gross Receipts Tax that has been on the books for a while but has had the rate set at zero percent.

Viewing the video shows that Mr. Fleckenger’s idea is not without opposition.

Council Member Barb Weber stated that taking the economy into account she thinks that now is not the time to be imposing any additional taxes on anyone.

Mr. Fleckenger’s business lies right outside the city limits and would not affect him but some folks are wondering if he would voluntarily offer his business for annexation into the city so that he could participate in the tax that he wishes to see imposed on others.

Comments may be posted or read by clicking on “Comments” below.

Alexandria weighing flea market idea

We’ve been told the person that approached the mayor on this wants to run a full time business.

Why doesn’t the person proposing this great idea take it to Cold Spring, Highland Heights or the county?

Because we don’t believe that they would want anything to do with it.

If Alexandria really gets serious about this (we hope they don’t) and wants to entertain the guy (we’re pretty sure we know who he is) that’s proposing this nutty idea then say hello to problems and issues that some may consider insensitive and too politely incorrect to mention here.

We can’t believe one of our elected officials would even bring something like this up much less support it.

Posted on nky.com –

Alexandria weighing flea market idea

By Chris Mayhew • 11:59 am, Aug 29, 2011

ALEXANDRIA – Mayor Bill Rachford said he’s been approached about the idea of having a flea market in town at the Aug. 18 meeting

Rachford said it’s only an idea, but what has been suggested was to allow flea markets on four or five-acre plots of land by a private operator.

One of the locations that was brought up as a potential site for a flea market was at the old Thriftway grocery store lot, he said.

Council member Stacey Graus said he thought if there was going to be a flea market use allowed in the city it should be something special and only held a couple of times a year.

“I mean I’m fine with it,” Graus said. “I don’t want to make it every week.”

Council member Dave Hart said if the city were to allow any flea markets in city limits the cost for police protection needed to be considered.

City Attorney Mike Duncan said if the city were to consider ever allowing flea markets it would require a text amendment to a zone.

“By omission, they’re not a permitted use in any of the zones,” Duncan said.

First comment posted on nky.com following the article –

By: INSPCALLAHAN

2:56 PM on August 29, 2011

I thought the last Mayor was a joke, this guy is even funnier. Why don't we let the circus come to town, never mind, the real circus is happening when the city government meets.

The city government ought to think of how to get real business in town and keep them. Why do you need a flea market, when you have all of these Street sales poping [sic] up? One that is coming up is the Wood Stone Subdivision Annual Sale, and this is a pain in the butt if you live in this Subdivision. You have all types of people from all walks of life coming into a neighborhood to case it, you have Streets so congested, that if there was a fire, the Fire Department could not get to the fire, you have people selling food prepared food items like they were a resturaunt [sic], and much more.

Come on City Government of Alexandria, do something that is going to bringt [sic] possible jobs in the area. You want a Flea Market, you are only going to add to the probelms [sic] that already exist.

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Consultant to look at possible merger of the Alexandria and Campbell County police departments

According to an article written by Jeff McKinney on nky.com the Campbell County Fiscal Court and the city of Alexandria have agreed to hire a consultant to offer advice on how the governments could possibly merge their police departments.

Alexandria Mayor Bill Rachford said Thursday that the city has asked the county to develop a study that would determine if the two entries should merge.

He said a time frame has not been determined when the study will be completed or how much it will cost.

Rachford and Campbell County Judge-executive Steve Pendery in recent weeks have discussed a possible merger of Alexandria’s and Campbell County’s police departments.

“A study of this sort will determine if a merger is feasible or not,” Rachford said.

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Alexandria considering a new public works position

According to Chris Mayhew in the Alexandria Recorder a proposal by the mayor to elevate a public works position into a supervisory role was met with skepticism by two of the three members of council’s public works committee during an Aug. 4 meeting.

Mayor Bill Rachford said the proposed idea is still in the discussion phase, and he intends to continue talks about a foreman position. Rachford said he and public works director Sam Trapp came up with the idea for a foreman as a way to improve the department’s operations.

The new position wouldn’t mean hiring anyone new, Rachford said.

“You’re just giving somebody a little more responsibility,” said Trapp during the public works committee meeting.

Trapp said with the administrative duties he has going on, he’s sometimes in a meeting with the mayor and others or in the office filing reports and not at a job site.

“I’m just saying I can’t be there every minute of every day,” he said.

Council member Dave Hart, public works committee chairman, said the committee had been offered the opportunity to help write the job description for a foremen position. There was no discussion of the job description.

Adding a foreman position likely also means a salary increase, said council member Stacey Graus during the public works committee meeting.

Graus said if a supervisor puts forth a weekly set of priorities of what’s supposed to be done, then the employees should be able to carry everything out.

“I’m having trouble with the idea of having a foreman for three people,” Graus said.

Trapp said he didn’t disagree, and that public works employees are able to carry out tasks on their own.

Trapp said it’s not like the entire crew of three workers are always on the same job at the same time, and a foreman will have control of a job site.

“Well, the foreman controls all aspects of the job – not just one person,” he said.

Council member Barbara Weber said the idea of a foreman is kind of a duplication of responsibilities.

“I don’t really see the necessity,” Weber said.

Trapp said the department is now using daily time cards and tracking how much time each person spends on each job.

“Now we’re accounting for every minute of the day because some people feel like we’re not here every minute of every day,” Trapp said. “That’s just how I feel.”

Weber said the city has other reasons to track time including making sure the public works department runs as efficiently as possible and to see who is doing what kind of work.

“There’s more of a reason for it than we’re just basically poking over their shoulder,” she said.

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Dollar General coming to Alexandria

According to an article by Chris Mayhew of the Alexandria Recorder a Dollar General store is in the works for the City of Alexandria.

The company has submitted a preliminary site plan for a store in Alexandria and the fees have been paid, said John Jewell, chairman of the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission. The proposed 1.9-acre location for the store is on north side of Summerlake Drive at the intersection with Alexandria Pike, Jewell said.

Previously this year, Dollar General built and opened a store on Ky. 8 in Silver Grove. There are also store locations at 13042 Alexandria Pike south of Grant’s Lick and 1841 Monmouth St., in Newport. For information about Dollar General visit the website www.dollargeneral.com.

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Alexandria expects sale of condemned building

In a recent article by Chris Mayhew on Campbell County Connects The owner of a building condemned by the city on East Main Street has communicated with the city for the first time in more than a year, expressing an intent to sell the property rather than have it demolished.

Alexandria and Campbell County to merge Police Departments?

Discussions are taking place concerning the possibility of Alexandria and Campbell County merging their police departments.

This issue has now become a matter of public record.

In our original post we were questioning what seemed to be the hush-hush nature of discussions.

Thanks to Barbara Weber, councilmember and chair of Alexandria’s Safety Committee this issue has now reached the light of day.

We’re looking for more details as this matter develops.

What we do know is that this “merging” or “consolidation” if it does occur will forever change the City of Alexandria and the citizens of Alexandria must decide if they want this change.

The city needs to go slow on this matter resisting at every turn any attempt to speed up its decision to go forward.

Many, many details need to be worked on how this would benefit the city.

We’re looking for more details as this matter develops.

This above post was edited Thursday, July 21, 2011.

The following story by Chris Mayhew was published on Campbell County Connects Wednesday, July 20, 2011.

Alexandria, county considering police merger

By Chris Mayhew • cmayhew@nky.com • 8 :02 pm, Jul 20, 2011

ALEXANDRIA – It’s possible southern Campbell County will be served by one unified police force with an announcement of a potential merger of the Alexandria and the county police with the city in the lead.

Mike Ward, Alexandria’s chief of police, and Alexandria Mayor Bill Rachford discussed the idea of combining the two departments at a meeting of the City Council safety committee Wednesday, July 20.

Ward said he and the mayor met with Campbell County Judge-executive Steve Pendery a couple of weeks ago at the county’s request. The idea of the city taking over police services the county provides was raised.

“We discussed the possibility that the city might be interested in a merger of the county and city police departments,” Ward said.

Ward said he and the mayor felt they should inform the safety committee if the city was going to move forward with examining the idea.

“At this point I don’t know what in the heck I can tell you other than the question was raised and we’d like to look into it,” he said.

Ward said details of funding a joint budget and managing services provided by a merged department are not difficult duties for police administrators.

“The hard part is having two governments come to an agreement,” he said.

Barbara Weber, chairperson of the safety committee, said the 15-minute closed session at the start of the July 20 meeting was the first time the idea was ever mentioned in a meeting.

Prior to the closed session, Weber said any changes affecting the public should always be in an open meeting and the private meeting was going to be limited to a talk about police personnel.

“This closed session will be to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of individual officers,” she said.

Later, in open session, Weber said pension funding was something that was on her mind when it comes to any potential merger.

“That’s a ton of money, and it’s going to bankrupt a lot of cities,” she said of Kentucky’s pension system.

Ward said pensions are always at the top of the list of police lobbying groups when the Kentucky General Assembly meets.

“They know they’ve got to do something, and they’ve got the long session coming up next year,” he said.

And with any merger the county will have to pay a share of costs to run a combined department, Ward said.

“Depending on the agreement that you reach with Fiscal Court, the Fiscal Court has to pay their fair share as well,” he said.

Rachford said he sees four options for any consolidation discussions including:

• The city taking over the county police

• The county taking over the city police

• Creating a police authority with its own independent board

The option to do nothing is also on the table, Rachford said.

Rachford said it was too early for a public question-and-answer session in response to a request by Weber for a public forum on the merger issue. Rachford said the city was just beginning to gather information about the county’s pension costs and other financial costs of the county’s department.

Rachford said he was scheduled to meet again next week with Pendery. The city will go forward and see if the idea makes sense, Rachford said.

“At this point it is merely exploratory,” Rachford said. “No decisions have been made, but it’s something worth looking at.”

This story will be updated.

* * End of Campbell County Connects article * *

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