Several Ordinances and Resolutions Passed by Kenton City Council Including One to Outsource Crack Sealing City Streets

A resolution and an ordinance were both passed on first reading after suspension of the three-reading rule at the Kenton City Council meeting Monday evening.

The ordinance provides for additional appropriations and for transferring funds for the year 2026, one of which is the Waterworks Fund.

Safety-Service Director Cindy Murray said, “the Waterworks Fund is new. We created a new line, because it seems like there’s a lot of EPA programs that we are having to do, and I thought we need to create a line just so we can track how much money we are spending to stay in EPA compliance on some of these programs that they have, so this is a new requirement for the backflow. It was a finding in our 2025 audit, so we need to get it addressed and resolved.’

The $15,000 contained in the fund was a new appropriation.

The $1950 in the General Fund from the Tree Commission was the unspent amount of a grant from 2025 that was carried over.

The $100,000 is a transfer to the Street Fund for crack sealing, which Mayor Lynn Webb is something new that they are trying this year.

She asked Public Works Superintendent Theron Gammon to explain it further.

He said, “We had a guy from J & A Construction come in and he created what roads he felt like needed crack sealing, and which ones to ‘don’t waste your money crack sealing on it.’ Manpower wise, we just don’t have the guys to do it, so we’re going to work with him, and he’s going to help us get it all done.”

Murray said this is the first year we are outsourcing it. Usually we would do it in-house, and it would be like at the end of dura-patching season and before leaf pick up, and the last couple of years, we were at a time crunch, so last year we didn’t do it at all.”

The resolution that was passed approved the 2026 recommendations of the Kenton/Buck Tax Incentive Review Council.

City Law Director John Schewmer recommended passage of the resolution, saying that, “the city has previously approved tax incentives, or abatements, with Graphic Packaging, Stillwater Metal, Kenton Health Facilities and Robinson Fin Machines, and this resolution basically states that the city wants to continue that arrangement.”

He added that, “they have made investments into the community, and are making investments into the community, and they rely on that exemption.”

Also at the meeting,

.A resolution to permit the city to enter into a highway improvement project, namely the roundabout project, with the Ohio Department of Transportation was read for the first time and will be on second reading at the next meeting.

Two resolutions and an ordinance were passed after they were read for the third time.

They are:

A resolution to permit the city to enter into a highway improvement project, namely sidewalks, with the Ohio Department of Transportation.

A resolution authorizing the sale of personal property not needed for municipal purposes.

An ordinance amending codified ordinance sections relating to the Downtown Historic District.

Schwemer said this has to do with, “the committee appointments by the mayor, which would then be subject to approval by city council, and that certain permits also be approved by the Safety-Service Director unless there’s a variance, and that’s when it would go to the full board of the Downtown Board.”

Council them went into Executive Session to discuss labor negotiations, with no action taken afterward.

The next regular meeting for Kenton City Council will be on April 13.

You can view the entire meeting here: https://cityofkenton.com/news_detail_T10_R144.php?fbclid=IwY2xjawQvspRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEemRuW-IUUsPheOElY6-DFdcqpLb1T_qWL3ofA5T6n9INuoe7j1lfv-iG4F5Y_aem_cnIehCOgGFD9Ed6nOy1wTg