Summer 2015 Rural Progress Reports
August 31, 2015 Update
The county Fiscal Court as agreed to underwrite the cost of the mailing another survey covering the entire southern portion of the county. The citizens group has contacted Dr. Garkovich of the University of Kentucky to help with developing the survey and tallying the results. The citizens group hopes to mail the surveys out during the last week of January 2016. Please fill out the survey and send it in so the citizens group has a good sample of the opinions of the residents of southern Kenton County.
July 29, 2015 Update
The South Kenton County Citizens Group had a public open house on June 15th, at the Piner Baptist Church. The turnout was strong with over 50 people attending the event. Each subcommittee presented the work they had been pursuing over the last couple of months and asked the public for its thoughts and ideas.
Amy Heeger of the service subcommittee presented their work with the Northern Kentucky ADD and the Northern Kentucky Water District on expanding the water system. They have also talked with TBNK on expanding their reach into south Kenton County.
Bill Schneider of the roads subcommittee presented their work with the Kenton County Public Works department and the Kenton County Police department on improving road conditions. The roads subcommittee has been focused on improving the shoulders of roads, improving the reporting of road problems to the public works department in a timely manner and getting the public more involved in improving south Kenton County roads.
Dan Allen and Scott Daniels presented the agriculture heritage subcommittee’s work on improving the agriculture situation in south Kenton County. They also presented basic agriculture statistics such as number of farms in the area, crop yields, and amounts of land under cultivation. This group has been investigating ways to conserve and protect farmland, promote agritourism, and bring more young people into farming. Future meetings are scheduled to explore agbusiness and preserving farmland threatened by development.
The zoning subcommittee showed alternatives to the minimum one acre lot size that is currently in place in south Kenton County. One of the alternatives raises the minimum lot size to five acres. Another alternative is a hybrid system that allows a small number of one acre lots, based on the size of the lot being subdivided, and the remaining acreage of the lot, divided into minimum of five acre parcels. Thirty-nine participants filled out surveys asking which zoning scheme they preferred. The majority preferred either the minimum five acre lot size, or the hybrid system. This group will continue to gather residents’ input on the zoning issue and explore ways to preserve the natural environment of south Kenton County.
The next South Kenton County Citizens Group steering committee meeting is scheduled for July 29.
The next Agriculture Heritage meeting will be on August 5, at 6:30 pm at the Durr Extension Office.
A small group from the steering committee is going to attend the Kenton County Fiscal Court caucus meeting on August 4th to present the group’s progress.