COVINGTON, Ky. – Tuesday night’s Covington Board of Commissioners meeting covered new art, technology and infrastructure projects. The projects are all part of larger city initiatives and strategic goals.
Placement of three new bike racks at West Seventh Street and Washington Avenue was approved. The bike racks are part of an ArtWorks program that brings artist-designed, functional bike racks to public spaces throughout Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.
Working in partnership and with financial support from Covington-based tech business accelerator UpTech, ArtWorks selected the design of Brush Factory studio for three cloud-shaped bike racks. Each rack can accommodate four to six bikes.
The Covington Police Department will be adding a Computer Forensic Analyst. The newly created civilian position will be responsible for collecting, receiving, and analyzing electronic devices in the custody of the department.
“As crime increasingly migrates to and operates within the cyber world, this position will provide the department with the additional technological resources it needs to detect and investigate criminal activity,” City Manager Larry Klein said.
Previously, the Police Department had relied on outside agencies to find and analyze data from confiscated electronic devices. Bringing this work in-house will allow for faster data retrieval and prevents unnecessary delays in any criminal investigations that may result.
City staff presented a new Economic Dashboard feature on the City’s website. The interactive dashboard is intended to act as a single source point of information of key economic indicators on Covington as compared with local benchmark communities.
The dashboard includes various demographic and economic information and is part of Covington’s transparency efforts to make data available to the public via its website.
Restrooms at Randolph Park will undergo renovations after being closed for nearly five years. Improvements include reconstruction of all plumbing, new bathroom fixtures, new ventilation, handicap rails, new lights, new doors, floor restoration and cosmetic upgrades.
These upgrades are the first in a series for the Eastside neighborhood park. The work is being done in conjunction with the redevelopment of the Lincoln Grant Scholar House, which is adjacent to the park.
The City’s annual street resurfacing projects will cover Latonia and the eastern half of South Covington this year. Covington will spend $523,703 of state municipal road aid funds and federal CDBG funds for approximately 57 streets in the City.
The City is divided into three geographic areas for street resurfacing projects. These areas are on a three-year rotating schedule. Each year, streets are prioritized in the area of focus based on the pavement rating, the amount of traffic, and coordination with the various underground utility companies. Work includes street resurfacing and replacing the corresponding curb ramps to bring them up to current ADA standards.