City Administrator's July Report

Rick and I have finalized the draft of our fall paving list and we will be bringing that to you in August. 
    
Northern Kentucky Water Company has given me an update on the long awaited Ervin Terrace water main replacement project.  At this time they are finalizing their plans, which still need to be sent off to the Division of Water in Frankfort.  Once approved it will go through their board and then into construction.  Due to the timing they are afraid the project would be set to begin in November or December so we have all agreed for a start date of March 1st. 
    
KZF is ready to bid out the first phase of construction for Riverfront Commons.  I sat down with them on Thursday to go over the bid and set the schedule.  Frankfort still needs to finalize the bid packet, but as of now we are scheduled to bid the construction of the project on August 9th.  The ad will run for 21 days and will commence on August 31st.  We will open the bids down at the school at 4 pm on that afternoon.  At the September 4th Council Meeting I will recommend the lowest and/or best bid for the project.  
    
​I went to Frankfort for the Industrial Revenue Bond Hearing for the Tapestry project at Manhattan Harbour.  I gave testimony on behalf of the city of Dayton and all the criteria for approval were met.
    
I met with the Park Board, which now has a new member, and we outlined the expectations for the new board format going forward.  I have asked them to start thinking about 2019 and the budgetary and improvements they see that will be needed for our several parks so we can start to plan for those items now.  The Board will likely start holding public meetings sometime in September and will set a schedule best suited for their needs.
 
Finance
The 2018-2019 Budget was passed at the July Council meeting. 
 
Fire Department
Chris Adkins was appointed the new Fire Chief and we have had some good conversations about the department and their needs. 
 
Economic Development/Grants/Etc.
 
Manhattan Harbour: The framing of the Gateway project is underway.
The developers of the 265 unit Tapestry site received approval from the State Debt Officer for $35M in Industrial Revenue Bonds for their project.  They hope to close sometime this month with construction beginning almost immediately. 
 
The group of developers responsible for the Gateway project are putting together financing for a smaller multifamily project on lots 6-9 on the west end.  Once complete we will have a better idea on when the plan is set to break ground.
 
 Riverfront Commons (Construction Phase): Bids will go out for construction for Phase I in August.
 
Sidewalk Improvement Project (Design Phase): We are starting to set up some meetings with Right-of-Way firms to discuss moving forward with this phase of the project. 
 
Sixth Avenue Lighting Project: The lights have been installed and we are really thrilled with how they look on the avenue.  The last light is expected to be installed by the first week of August and the final electrical connection will be made soon after. 
 
New City Building (Design): The Design Committee met for the first time with KZF to begin looking at the information gathered through the administration questionnaire.  A small group also toured new city buildings in Independence and Highland Heights to get an idea of what would be needed in our design.  The board started to look at building placement on the site.  KZF will meet with the administration the first week of August to start to talk about office layout configuration.  To reiterate, Phase I of design will lay out the location of the building along with a floor plan and estimated costs to complete the project. 
 
Upcoming Meetings
Main Street Board – July 28th
Comprehensive Plan Board Meeting - TBD

Respectfully Submitted,
Michael Giffen