ERLANGER, Ky. — Following the removal of trees on a city hillside, one Erlanger resident and his family who live atop the hill are trying to get the city to add a barrier.
Don Niceley, 89, remembers falling into the tree near his driveway, which is also on city property.
“I lost my grip and went over,” he said.
Earlier this month, Duke Energy removed the trees to protect the power lines overhead. The city says they service more than 8,000 local customers.
But that leaves the 18-foot drop on the hillside completely empty.
“The city should have had a plan in place for a fence or guardrail,” Diana Niceley told council at an April 16 meeting.
Diana is also a sitting city council member, but presented the issue during the public comment portion.
City Administrator Peter Glenn told the meeting he started the process to get the legally required three bids for the project, and that a temporary orange barrier was installed in the meantime.
“We will be moving forward in making sure that’s a safe situation,” Glenn said.
Jeff Niceley, Don’s son, said he came away from that meeting thinking the matter was resolved.
“Two days later, they came out and said they changed their mind. They took the fence down,” he said.
Niceley said the city told them their lawyer determined the city isn’t liable for what happens on the hill, and thus can’t spend money on the project.
Mayor Jessica Fette said public dollars can’t be used since the project would primarily benefit a public property owner.
Council members “have to be able to show a public purpose in order to use taxpayer dollars. That is the most important piece of the puzzle,” Fette said.
Niceley wants to know what defines public benefit.
“In my opinion, if it’s a handful of people or one person, that matters,” he said.
Fette said the city has “tried to bend over backward.”
“We've talked about the city beautification idea and plan that we could go forward with, but it takes time,” she said.
Time is something the Niceleys say they don’t have.
“Something needs to be done now,” he said.
The family is planning to bring up the issue at the next city council meeting. Council members could direct the city to spend money on the project, but there are ethical considerations to consider. Don is a former council member, and his daughter Diana is a current member.
Don called all the red tape to get something done “rotten.”
