KENTON COUNTY FISCAL COURT Covington Courthouse 303 Court St. Covington, KY 41011

Transcription

1 KENTON COUNTY FISCAL COURT Covington Courthouse 303 Court St. Covington, KY January 24, :00P.M. Call to Order Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann called to order the January 24, 2017 meeting of the Kenton County Fiscal Court. Judge Knochelmann led the invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance. Present: Staff: Judge/Executive Kris Knochelmann Commissioner Beth Sewell, District 1 Commissioner Jon Draud, District 2 Commissioner Joe Nienaber, District 3 County Attorney Stacy Tapke Joe Shriver, County Administrator Scott Gunning, Assistant County Administrator Roy Cox, County Treasurer Sue Kaiser, Fiscal Court Clerk Approval of Minutes A. Approval of Minutes from the meeting of December 21, Commissioner Sewell made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Nienaber. B. Approval of Minutes from the Caucus meeting of January 18, Commissioner Nienaber made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Sewell. Citizens Address No Citizens came before the Fiscal Court at this time. General Business A. Claim's Lists-Dated December 22, 2016, January 10, 2017 and January 20, There were no questions on the Claim's Lists.

2 B. Presentation of a Proclamation declaring January 24, 2017 as "Ken Knipper Day". Judge Knochelmann presented a proclamation to Ken Knipper' s wife and daughters, and acknowledged all that Mr. Knipper did for Northern Kentucky. C. Presentation of awards to Kenton County Police Officers and various Service Programs in Kenton County. Chief Spike Jones recognized the group Northern Kentucky Chive On for their donation of a bullet proof vest for the Kenton County Police Dog. The vest is greatly appreciated, and he presented a certificate to Chive On thanking them for their donation. The protective vest has a value of between $1,795 to $2,234. Chief Jones then recognized Sergeant Darrell Caldwell for distinguishing himself by excellent service as a canine handler for the citizens of Northern Kentucky. Officer Caldwell, and canine Brix provided unparalleled services. The Kenton County Schools were kept safe by the actions of the officer and the canine. The accomplishments of Sergeant Caldwell reflect greatly on the Kenton County Police Department. Chief Jones awarded Sergeant Caldwell with a ribbon of merit for his outstanding service. D. Discussion regarding the Bavarian Site. Judge Knochelmann stated that we are working on the new courthouse location at the Bavarian site, and there was a caucus meeting last week regarding this issue. We would like to recap where we are with the project, and answer questions. Nick Hendrix stated that we have gone through pre-planning with Parsons Brinckerhoff, and they help us draft the RFQ for the project. This is the first phase in the project. We anticipate that the teams will come together with a design/build concept. The RFQs will be due at the end of this month. There was a pre-qualification meeting for anyone interested, and there was a very good crowd of 26 attendees. There was a presentation from Parsons Brinckerhoff at the caucus with some estimated costs for the different options. Judge Knochelmann stated that we compared the numbers for staying in the existing building, or moving to a new building. The numbers are lining up that it is more economical to move to a new building rather than stay in the old building. Our next process would be a guaranteed maximum of $20 million. As we go through the process of getting hard numbers from teams, the dollar amount will be a prerequisite for the design team. We are assuming that the estimates we have gotten are high. Nick Hendrix stated that the estimates that were brought forth at the caucus are conservative estimates. The design/build criteria does have a guaranteed maximum price of $20 million, and the county won't pay a penny more than that amount.

3 Judge Knochelmann stated that this is the next step. We have the ability to do more or do less should we choose. There will be stumbling blocks along the way, but we will go through the process and come together. Commissioner Draud stated that at the last caucus meeting, we were told that a decision needed to be made about which alternative we wanted to choose. County Administrator Joe Shriver stated that everyone was told that if they have a strong preference, it needed to be included into the RFP process. Commissioner Nienaber stated that he kept demanding that a decision be made, but the word he should have used was preference. They are simply asking for what would be the preference, but this doesn't limit the designer/builder to come up with alternate ideas. County Administrator Joe Shriver stated that if there is a strong preference, it needs to be communicated so that we don't change things during the RFP process. Commissioner Draud stated that he would assume a decision needs to be made about which alternative to use before the RFP. Judge Knochelmann stated that the idea would be that no decision has to be made before the RFP goes out. We are giving flexibility to the teams by saying that out of our needs, here are some things that we want finalized. A decision doesn't have to be made within the next month. Commissioner Nienaber asked if it is safe that on February 22nd the alternatives that we definitely don't want can be taken off the list? Judge Knochelmann answered that this is correct. Commissioner Nienaber stated that taking off alternative C would help the team be more creative. Commissioner Draud stated that he would prefer that a decision be made as to which alternative the group would like. Judge Knochelmann stated that the consensus is that tearing down the whole building is not what we want. We can say that we want to keep the tower, and beyond that a proposal can be completed that includes everything that would benefit the county. The design team could come to the county and say they are keeping the tower only, keep the utility building or keep the middle building and it won't cost anymore money. The teams will be given more flexibility. Commissioner Sewell stated that this comforts her, as she felt pressure to play architect. It is good to give the teams the creativity they need. The key to some of the discussion was adding square footage, if necessary. The question is whether it is more expensive to keep parts of the building.

4 Commissioner Draud stated that it was pretty clear to him that a decision had to be made right away. The ideas from the Open House created some good ideas, but they all seem to cost money. We will have to decide what we can do as a group. His recommendation would be for the administration to make the recommendations to the Fiscal Court. He would like to see the building being something special and distinctive. When he went through all the suggestions from the public, he realized it won't be possible to do all of them. Judge Knochelmann stated that it is about the next step. There are a lot of moving pieces, and there will be a lot of options. Commissioner Draud stated that he is more comfortable as a Fiscal Court deciding which alternative is preferred. Judge Knochelmann stated that he doesn't believe there is enough information today to make that decision. Commissioner Draud asked based on what the architects proposed? Commissioner Sewell answered that the numbers aren't from the architects. These numbers are preliminary. Judge Knochelmann stated that Parsons Brinckerhoff is working on whether the project fits within our expectations, does it make sense to keep part of the building, and now the RFQ and RFP process needs to pan out to get final numbers. Then we can make our final decision. When the RFQs come back, we need to see if we have hard estimates to make final decisions. County Administrator Joe Shriver stated that once the field is narrowed to the three teams, the RFP process is more interactive. Commissioner Nienaber asked for the RFP due date. Jane Jordan from Parsons Brinckerhoff stated that the design/build process will be a two step process. The RFQ is currently out, and they submit their qualifications by January 31st. At that point, the qualifications will be evaluated. After three teams are short listed, they will be asked to submit proposals. There will be the technical/ design proposal, and a price. Part of the proposal process will be to meet with the Program Managers to present their ideas. By the time the proposal process is completed, all the teams will be submitting something that the court will find acceptable. The proposals will be scored, and the proposal price will be opened. There will be a scoring for prices, and the total score will be what determines who will be doing the work. Commissioner Nienaber stated that on February 22nd the three companies will be given notice that they are the ones completing proposals. Then, from February 22nd through late May there will be an evaluation period. Ideas will be conveyed during this six week time period.

5 Jane Jordan stated that there will be a set of documents that are part of the RFP that clearly states what is wanted for the facility (square footage per department, expectations on equipment, etc.) Judge Knochelmann stated that the worst case scenario will be that the RFQs come back, and we aren't satisfied with the response. We would have to regroup on the RFQ process. John Stanton stated that the alternatives given were basically artificial alternates that were created to help compare prices. There is a prescriptive element that blends alternative A and alternative B. So the RFP could be prescriptive in one part (keep the tower), and then strong guidance otherwise. The architects could then give us the best design that they can. Judge Knochelmann stated that in the beginning we were talking about saving the front tower, and taking down the back part of the building. We now know that there are four separate structures on the sight, and one or all of them could come down. We need to make sure that we can monetize the rest of the sight. We are meeting the timelines, and the numbers coming back are giving us some good information. The Fiscal Court will be informed about what the RFQ process is looking like. Commissioner Nienaber stated that when we talk about the RFP, it is for what operates in this structure today. There are no hard commitments from any outside organizations at this point. We are moving forward with a building that suits our needs, but part of what the flexibility needs to be is a building that is scalable in the event that we can have other services join the county. Commissioner Sewell stated that the most revealing part of this process to her is that there is not as much square footage to work with as thought initially. We will need to add a lot if we tear down some. Either way, we will need to add space to accommodate the county's basic needs. Judge Knochelmann stated that we are working to get numbers together, and as we acquire neighboring property, it will drive some of the options for flexibility. Judge Knochelmann then asked that Item G from the Consent Agenda be discussed, and voted on separately. There are two items on the agenda covering the Detention Center. We have been working with Terry Carl and his team about the increased cost of the overtime. Treasurer Roy Cox stated that they analyzed data from 2014, which was a year that overtime was under control. They looked at the total hours, and compared July thru October. In doing this, there were 8,586 additional hours spent at the Detention Center. If someone gets admitted to the hospital overnight, there has to be a deputy there 24 hours a day. These are hours that are not scheduled. Overtime hours are filling those deputies' hours back at the Detention Center. The analysis showed that there were 75,000 regular hours in We have increased wages twice, and the increased wages amount to $71,000. The leave was also analyzed, and three employees were added totaling 2000 hours for the timeframe. The other regular hours went up, because in 2014 there were 1,390 hours less due to vacation, military, etc. All this was taken into consideration. When you add the additional non-security personnel and the reduced

6 leave, we accounted for all the regular hours except for 113 hours out of 78,000 hours. The overtime hours spent in 2014 were 3,619, and the additional impact on the pay scale increases were $7,500. Hospital stays increased by 2,112 hours in this nine pay period time. The hospital visits showed increased hours of 2,164. So, these are increases above what was in place in 2014 for the July through October timeframe. The training effect of turnover showed that in 2014 the turnover was 32%, and in 2016 it is 38% on an annual basis. The cost of training that high of a turnover rate was 720 hours. These are hours that people are pulled from the floor, so those positions need to be backfilled with overtime hours. We accounted for all of the hours except for 107 hours of overtime. So, when comparing the two years we accounted for all but 220 hours out of 87,000 hours. Due to the turnover rate, we have encouraged the Detention Center to increase their solicitations, and to increase the number of people they have on their waiting list. Our turnover is no higher than any other local Detention Center, but because of that turnover rate we need to have four people in the pipeline at all times. Mr. Cox then stated that the Detention Center has had 1,195 hours for the October 29th pay period. During the November 12th pay period there was 1,246 hours and the November 26th pay period had 1,108 hours. As of January 7, 2017 the overtime hours are down to 379 hours. Commissioner Draud asked if the Detention Center is asking for another $78,000 tonight? Treasurer Roy Cox explained that he is asking for $35,000 for overtime, and $33,000 for the Substance Abuse Program. The progress at the Detention Center shows that it may be possible to get through the year with $35,000. He thanked the staff at the Detention Center for all of their hard work. Judge Knochelmann stated that the health of the inmates is drastically worse. So, there are more people admitted to the hospital, and they are staying longer. Commissioner Sewell asked how we solved the hospital issue? Judge Knochelmann answered that there has been a lot of recruiting. There must be more staff to cover the hours. Commissioner Draud asked if there is a separate line item for overtime for the jail? Treasurer Roy Cox answered that yes, there is a separate line item. Commissioner Draud suggested that this line item be increased for the next Fiscal Year. Treasurer Roy Cox stated that the goal is to correct this problem with regular hours instead of overtime. Commissioner Nienaber asked when the last time was that the Detention Center was at full capacity for staff? County Administrator Joe Shriver answered that we will have it for a couple of weeks, and then it will be off. We are trying to over hire

7 Commissioner Nienaber asked that if Boone, Kenton and Campbell County are all going through the same issue, is there an opportunity to have a sworn officer that the counties can share at the hospital? County Administrator Joe Shriver answered that there might be a jurisdiction problem with this idea. Judge Knochelmann then asked Jason Merrick to review the changes he would like to make to the Substance Abuse Program. The program is doing great things at the jail, but with the program being state funded we have limitations on the shorter term (90 days) people for treatment. This program will allow us to not only expand the number of people who are being treated in the Detention Center, but will also let us connect with the people who are there for a shorter period. Jason Merrick stated that this expansion would increase the capacity by 20 participants, and shorten the county side programming to 90 days. We have seen a limited number of county inmates completing the six month program. Completion is a very important part of the treatment. This will increase the compensation from the state as well. If we bring on one more full time staff member, and increase capacity by 20, then our annual income will go from $245,000 to almost $300,000 per year. In addition, they are providing a moral recognition program as well for both the men and women. This is a treatment for anti-social personality disorder, and is also a behavioral correction therapy. Free overdose and prevention response training is also being provided to all law enforcement personnel and community members. A portal re-entry class is being provided for the men and women, and this can provide a sentence credit for them as well. A 90 day sentence credit is given for a six month program. The SAP program is more than a drug treatment program. Jason Merrick then stated that 70% of the clients that have completed at least 90 days of the program are not being re-arrested after a year. This number is statewide. They are seeing 80% of the men and women are in safe housing. Just about 80% of them are employed at least part time. Over 50% are reporting less situations of anxiety, and 65% are having healthy relations with their family. All of this data can be found on the Department of Corrections website under the public reports. Commissioner Draud asked if he feels that we have reached a turnaround place? Jason Merrick answered that there are many wheels in that machine, one of them being a shift in our culture from drug glorification to a culture of health and wellness. Another point being that the appropriate levels of treatment must be available. When our capacity meets the need is when we will see the tipping point. Judge Knochelmann stated that there are cuts, and programs are going to have to do more with less. Commissioner Nienaber asked if by making this investment in the SAP program, there is a $65,000 return on that money from the state?

8 Jason Merrick answered that this is correct. Also, he will be meeting with the Judges and Prosecuting Attorneys to issue a standing order to reduce the 180 day sentences for drug charges to 90 days if they complete the program. He would also like to see the felony charge reduced to a misdemeanor charge if they complete the program. This may include six months of after care and checkups though. Commissioner Sewell asked how all of this is being tracked? Jason Merrick answered that he keeps track of data, and he has five interns. Department of Corrections picks up the research after one year. Judge Knochelmann asked for the Fiscal Court to take action on Item G from the Consent Agenda. Commissioner Draud made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Sewell. Judge Knochelmann called for a voice vote, and the motion passed unanimously 4-0. Resolutions A. Resolution No. 17-0lA (Action Requested) A Resolution for the Kenton County Fiscal Court concerning Fiscal Year Budget Adjustments. Treasurer Roy Cox explained that the amount for the SAP Program was corrected, and it is actually $33,330. Commissioner Draud made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Nienaber. B. Resolution No (Action Requested) A Resolution for the Kenton County Fiscal Court adopting and approving the execution of a Rural Secondary Program Agreement. Nick Hendrix stated that this is a routine agreement. Commissioner Draud made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Nienaber. C. Resolution No (Action Requested) A Resolution of the Kenton County Fiscal Court authorizing the filing of a Kentucky Community Development Block Grant-Public Services Application. Commissioner Nienaber made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Draud. D. Resolution No (Action Requested) A Resolution of the Kenton County Fiscal Court authorizing the Public Properties Corporation to issue the refunding bonds.

9 Commissioner Draud made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Sewell. Judge Knochelmann called for a voice vote, and the motion passed unanimously 4-0. E. Resolution No (Action Requested) A Resolution of the Kenton County Fiscal Court adopting guidelines and procedures regarding continuing disclosure requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Treasurer Roy Cox explained that this has to do with the refinancing of bonds at the AOC. Commissioner Draud made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Sewell. Judge Knochelmann called for a voice vote, and the motion passed unanimously 4-0. F. Resolution No (Action Requested) A Resolution of the Kenton County Public Properties Corporation authorizing the issuance of the refunding bonds. Commissioner Draud made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Nienaber. Ordinances No Ordinances came before the Fiscal Court at this time. Consent Agenda A. Exhibit No Request approval to surplus a 1996 Dodge Ram Pick Up Truck for the Kenton County Police Department. B. Exhibit No Request approval to surplus an Alto-Shaam Oven for the Kenton County Detention Center. C. Exhibit No Request approval to accept the bid from Davey Tree for the removal of trees and stumps at the Kenton County Golf Courses. D. Exhibit No Request approval to demolish unsafe property located at Madison Pike, Madison Pike and Ishmael Rd., all located in Morningview, KY. E. Exhibit No Request approval to reject all the HV AC Maintenance bids for all departments and re-bid.

10 F. Exhibit No Request approval of an agreement to continue to have Huntington Bank be the trustee for the bonds for the AOC. G. Exhibit No Request approval of the changes to the Substance Abuse Program at the Kenton County Detention Center. H. Exhibit No Request approval to accept the bid from HP Products Corporation for the Paper Products/Cleaning and Janitorial Supplies. I. Exhibit No Request approval for the Kenton County Fiscal Court to purchase 508 W. 12th St., Covington, KY. J. Exhibit No Request approval to enter into an agreement to sell the Kenton County Public Parks liquor license. K. Exhibit No Request approval to accept the bid from Atkins and Stang for the electrical work at the Kenton County Golf Course. Commissioner Draud asked about the Public Parks liquor license. County Administrator Joe Shriver explained that the prior Fiscal Court decided to sell liquor by the drink at the golf course for receptions. Back then, golf courses couldn't just buy limited liquor licenses. Since Davey has taken over the golf course, we couldn't transfer our license to Davey so they ended up getting a limited golf course license. We have a full fledged license that is under the quota cap, and since we don't have any intention of doing any other liquor sale, we can sell the license. We bought the license for $16,500, and we are selling it for $21,500. Everything on the Consent Agenda was voted on together, except Item I and G. Commissioner Nienaber made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Sewell. County Administrator Joe Shriver addressed item I, which is the purchase of 508 W. 12th St. The goal is to have the business relocate in the area, and this should be possible with the arrangement. This is giving us access to the property, while keeping the landlord and the tenant happy. Judge Knochelmann asked for a motion to approve Item I on the Consent Agenda. Commissioner Nienaber made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Sewell.

11 Executive Orders A. Executive Order No An Executive Order relating to the Fiscal Court approving the re-appointment of Mike Litzler, George Sparks and Rita King to the Parks and Recreation Commission, with their terms expiring on February 1, Conunissioner Draud made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Sewell. Judge Knochelmann called for a voice vote, and the motion passed unanimously 4-0. B. Executive Order No An Executive Order relating to the Fiscal Court approving the re-appointment of Gene Weber and William Kreutzjans to the Building Code Appeals Board, with their terms expiring on February 10, Commissioner Nienaber made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Sewell. C. Executive Order No An Executive Order relating to the Fiscal Court approving the resignation of Elmer Powers from his position of Staff Accountant for the Treasury Department, with the effective date of January 13, Commissioner Nienaber made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Draud. D. Executive Order No An Executive Order relating to the Fiscal Court approving the resignation of Ralph Pfalzgraf from his position of IT Specialist for the Emergency Communications Department, with the effective date of February 1, Commissioner Sewell made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Draud. Judge Knochelmann called for a voice vote, and the motion passed unanimously 4-0. E. Executive Order No An Executive Order declaring a Level One Snow Emergency on January 5, Commissioner Draud made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Sewell. Judge Knochelmann called for a voice vote, and the motion passed unanimously 4-0. F. Executive Order No An Executive Order relating to the Fiscal Court approving the hiring of Kelly Murray as a Call Taker for the Kenton County Emergency Communications Department, with the effective date of January 30, 2017.

12 Commissioner Sewell made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Nienaber. G. Executive Order No An Executive Order rescinding the Level One Snow Emergency. Commissioner Draud made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Nienaber. H. Executive Order No An Executive Order relating to the Fiscal Court approving the resignation of Tom Singleton as a PC/Hardware Specialist for the Information Technology Department, with the effective date of January 31, Commissioner Sewell made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Nienaber. I. Executive Order No An Executive Order relating to the Fiscal Court approving the hiring of Lisa Harrison as a Tax Clerk for the COLT Department, with the effective date of February 6, Commissioner Sewell made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Nienaber. J. Executive Order No An Executive Order relating to the Fiscal Court approving the reorganization of the Kenton County Police Department. Commissioner Draud made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Sewell. Judge Knochelmann called for a voice vote, and the motion passed unanimously 4-0. K. Executive Order No An Executive Order relating to the Fiscal Court approving the transfer of Justine White from the Information Technology Department to the Emergency Communications Department as an IT Specialist, with the effective date of January 30, Commissioner Nienaber made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Sewell. L. Executive Order No An Executive Order relating to the Fiscal Court approving the termination of Felicia Korman-Both as a Veterinary Technician for the Animal Shelter, with the effective date of January 6, Commissioner Sewell made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Nienaber.

13 Administrative Reporting Police - Chief Jones Chief Jones stated that the statistics are in for the year 2016 for the Certified First Responder Program. The Kenton County Police Department has all officers as Certified First Responders. The reason this status is maintained is because the Police often arrive prior to the life squad in the unincorporated Kenton County area. In 2016 the Kenton County Police Department responded to 29,010 calls for service, and of those calls 1,456 were medical calls for service. This breaks down to 1,072 assists for fire departments, 74 accidents with injuries, 21 assaults with injuries, eight broken bones, 28 deaths, two drowning, 97 emotional crises and 54 overdoses. There were ten deployments of Naloxone which when broken down were one in Ft. Wright, three in Independence, two in Latonia Lakes, two in Morningview, one in Piner and one in Ryland Heights. Emergency Communications - Tommy Thompson Tommy Thompson stated that the Emergency Communications Center was recently accredited by the Kentucky Association of Chiefs of Police. A lot of the credit for this accreditation goes to Ashley Hawks, who has worked for two years on this endeavor. This means that the center operates at a high standard, and follows best practices, guidelines and have a high level of training. At an upcoming Fiscal Court meeting, there will be a presentation on this accreditation. Mr. Thompson then stated that the bids for the P25 radio systems are due on February 2nd. Motorola, Harris and EF Johnson have expressed interest in submitting proposal. Also, Paul See has been hired as the radio system manager. He has about thirty years of experience, and will be a good fit. Judge Knochelmann stated that the radio system manager is going to help facilitate the radio project among the three counties. Mr. Thompson then stated that Kenton County has been working with Boone County on an RFP for a mass notification system. This will be reviewed at a future Fiscal Court meeting. Also, a disaster recovery plan is being worked on with Boone and Campbell County to help if the Communication Center is every compromised. Lastly, Mr. Thompson reported that the laptops have begun to be installed. This should be completed in the next few weeks. Justin White has helped keep this ahead of schedule. Public Works - Nick Hendrix Nick Hendrix stated that it has been a slow winter, and so his department is catching up on a backlog of work orders. Latonia Lakes is progressing, and the contractor is running behind. They intend to bring on more crews, and there is a stiff penalty if they don't finish on time.

14 Mr. Hendrix then complimented Mike McKenney on his work with all of the old vehicles. He is posting five to six vehicles a month to get rid of them from surplus. Commissioner Draud asked what the penalty clause is for the Latonia Lakes project? Nick Hendrix answered that there are very stiff penalties. The penalties are set up based on state specifications. The damages are based on the total contract amount, so this will equal about to about $2,200 per day penalty. Director of External Affairs - John Stanton John Stanton stated that there was a draft of President Trump's infrastructure plan, and the Brent Spence Bridge project is number two on this list. Also, regarding economic development, there are zero sites that are site ready, six that could be ready in one to five years and 64 that could be made ready within a year period. Wade Williams and Kaitlin Burt at Tri-Ed have done some great work, and much thanks needs to be given to Shad Sletto and Adam Chaney for their valuable input during the course of the presentation. What we do know about the six sites is that they are all on the market, and would cost $1.5 million to elevate the sites to industry standards. If there was a public ownership component to that, it would be a range of $4.3 million to $13.3 million. We are now shifting over to Emi Randall's work. She has done work on the 64 longer term sites. Some good work has been done, and we know a lot more than we knew a year ago. John Stanton then stated that we are continuing to work with Tri-Ed on motivating the local economic development systems to our cities. There will be an Economic Development Briefing on February 6th for the Mayors and City Council Members in partnership with the Chamber. Lastly, Mr. Stanton reported that we are continuing to work on Agricultural Economic Development. There will be some people up from Louisville and Lexington on January 30th to speak on a regional basis regarding possibilities there. Also, the neighborhood blitzes for the heroin door hangers will be continuing. The Open House regarding the Bavarian site will be this Thursday, January 26th at 4:30 p.m. at the Edgewood Senior Center. Economic Development - Patrick Henshaw Patrick Henshaw stated that the Fiscal Court recently launched an initiative to both craft and execute a Kenton County Technology and Knowledge Based Economic Growth Strategy to become a standing asset for all of Northern Kentucky. In partnership with Centrifuse and KMK Consulting he has spent the last few months conducting an ecosystem study of our own economic development arena. We were able to connect with ecosystems from Ann Arbor to Austin, from Louisville to Lexington and from Houston to St. Louis, studying what has been done right and what these ecosystem champions would have changed. We have also understood that the ecosystem must be underpinned with conditions relative to leadership, access to capital and the reality of building a sustainable long term plan. Patrick Henshaw then stated that the overall vision is to establish Kenton County as a hub of vibrant and growing technology and knowledge based businesses within a community,

15 tracking a continuous flow of this talent. The mission is to build a sustainable technology and knowledge based ecosystem. An economy focused on Kenton County that leverages the assets of the entire region, including the assets from across the county from urban, suburban and rural. While this is the overall mission for the plan, its subsequent execution will be presented to the Fiscal Court on March 1st. Judge Knochelmann stated that a lot of work is being done right now, and Jim McGraw is actively involved as well. Treasurer - Roy Cox Treasurer Roy Cox asked that the minutes reflect that the financial reports for December, 2016 have been submitted. Also, the RFP for the new financial software will be going out next week. Assistant County Administrator Scott Gunning then reported that there are a few change orders for the Golf Course Clubhouse. We are not ready to bring the change orders to the Fiscal Court, but would like to authorize the Judge/Executive to approve change orders up to $7,500 a piece. Commissioner Draud asked how much the change orders will be? Assistant County Administrator Scott Gunning answered that it is about $10,000. Commissioner Draud asked when the job will be completed. Assistant County Administrator Scott Gunning answered that it will be completed around mid March. Commissioner Draud made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Nienaber. County Administrator Joe Shriver stated that there is a lease that would allow one of the businesses located in the building that was purchased to remain in the building until around September. Commissioner Draud made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Sewell. Judge Knochelmann called for a voice vote, and the motion passed unanimously 4-0. County Administrator Joe Shriver then asked that the Fiscal Court reject all the bids for the voice-over IP. Lisa Desmarais, who is the new IT Director, has some new ideas Commissioner Sewell made the motion for approval; seconded by Commissioner Nienaber.

16 County Attorney's Report County Attorney Stacy Tapke stated that 66 Casey's Law cases were filed last year through the court system. This is a record high for Kenton County. On behalf of her staff and herself, she thanked the Fiscal Court for all that they are doing towards the heroin epidemic. Commissioners' Reports Commissioner Ton Draud Commissioner Draud had nothing to report. Commissioner Beth Sewell Commissioner Sewell had nothing to report. Commissioner Toe Nienaber Commissioner Nienaber had nothing to report. Judge/Executive's Report Judge Knochelmann reminded everyone about the Open House on Thursday. We are adding a couple of boards about the Independence building, and the planned evaluation there. This next month is very busy. The information will be back on the Independence Courthouse, the RFQ for the Bavarian Site and the bids coming back on radios. He appreciates everyone's efforts. Adjournment Having completed all business before the Court, Commissioner Draud offered a motion to adjourn which was seconded by Commissioner Sewell. Judge Knochelmann requested a voice vote whereupon all members present voted in the affirmative with a 4-0 vote. Text for all proposed and recently passed ordinances may be acquired by accessing the fiscal court web page at or by contacting the administrative offices at CLERK CERTIFICATION I, Sue J. Kaiser, having been appointed to the office of Fiscal Court Clerk, do hereby certify that this is a true and accurate record of the actions taken by the Kenton County Fiscal Court at the meeting of January 24, Sue~ Kaiser =- Fiscal Court Clerk