ELSMERE, Ky. — An Elsmere city councilwoman is closing out 2024 having missed 16 of 23 public meetings — and will likely miss more heading into 2025.
Serena Owen, who claims her absenteeism is due to feelings of an unsafe work environment, has been asking the city to grant her ADA accommodations, including the option to attend meetings virtually.
"I have been trying to be (at meetings)," Owen said in a previous statement to WCPO 9 News. "I was waiting on the city to comply and provide the requested ADA hybrid virtual accommodation that I and my medical provider requested of the mayor and City of Elsmere many months ago."
Owen's fellow council members have voted unanimously to oppose virtual meetings.
"While there may arise a rare situation when a member must attend a council meeting virtually, our council and administration encourages robust, personal and open communication with the public," reads a statement attributed to the City of Elsmere. "The belief is that virtual meetings will diminish council’s interaction with the community."
We brought our questions about Owen's request to employment and government accountability attorney Matthew Miller-Novak, who is based in Cincinnati.
"You don't see (these requests) much," he said. "I've been exposed to elected officials asking for accommodations, nothing quite like this."
Miller-Novak said according to the Kentucky Open Meetings Act elected officials are allowed to attend meetings virtually as well as cast votes virtually using telecommunication software.
"Having said that, it doesn't mean that a local council's rules would allow for that," Miller-Novak said. "It's not as easy as just flipping a switch and then today and tomorrow, we're going to all of a sudden have video conferencing that's hybrid. It's a little bit more difficult."
Owen has not directly stated her reasoning for requesting ADA accommodations but has said previously she has a "disability."
WCPO reached out to Owen several times this week. She responded in a message on Wednesday requesting we accommodate her disability by emailing her questions. While she did not directly answer those questions, she did provide a lengthy statement.
"While I have been trying to safely attend our meetings via my ADA accommodations virtual meeting request for many months, but the City of Elsmere has not complied with the accommodations request preventing me from safely attending meetings virtually like other council members have in 2021 and 2022," she said, in part, in the statement. "I agree with my constituents that attendance is important, which is why I am advocating for a safe municipal virtual hybrid meeting option for everyone, whereas people who want to attend in person can ..."
"It's important for everybody to have equal access to all buildings, especially like our government buildings," said Dee Parker, statewide co-chair of the advocacy group Kentuckians for the Commonwealth (KFTC). "We're just asking for Miss Owens to have access, to be able to attend the meetings, to do her civic duties and everything else."
When asked how familiar he was with why Owen is requesting accommodations, Parker said "I'm not 100% familiar, but I am slightly familiar with it."
"I believe sister Owen, so if threats are being made, then we take that very seriously," he said. "No one should have to live in fear and be threatened."
Owen previously claimed “threats” made by an Elsmere resident who regularly attends public meetings had led to her nonattendance.
The resident, who legally carries an unloaded firearm inside the council chambers, emphatically denies ever threatening Owen.
"Council member Owen has indicated she is concerned for her safety because a person who often attends council meetings carries a firearm which is permitted under state law," a statement attributed to the City of Elsmere read. "Elsmere police officials have verified and confirmed that the firearm in question is unloaded during the meetings."
When asked if she filed a police report or complaint over the allegations, Owen said no.
Owen has also seldom elaborated on the "threats" and "attacks" she claims to have faced beyond saying a resident told her "... to show up (to meetings)."
Elsmere Police Chief Russell Wood has said he "offered at great lengths for her to come and talk to me," about safety accommodations but ultimately Owen has not made face-to-face contact.
The accommodations include the following, according to the city:
- An escort to and from council chambers for public meetings from the chief of police or a uniformed police officer;
- Ballistic-resistant equipment Owen can wear during meetings;
- Ballistic-resistant glass to be installed at her seat in council chambers during meetings.
"I guess if you have very extreme general anxiety — even your perception of something, whether or not it's real — can cause significant health issues that maybe warrant some kind of accommodations," Miller-Novak said. "There's more than one way to provide an accommodation for a problem, right?"
Miller-Novak said the city may not have to honor Owen's specific ADA accommodation request but rather offer up reasonable accommodations, which could include the aforementioned safety accommodations.
“The bulletproof glass, a bulletproof vest, and police escort — that I appreciate (Wood) considering — may be costly for the city,” Owen said in a prior statement to WCPO. “It disregards my disability, requiring me to still be in person."
Miller-Novak said implementing telecommunications software may be costly, with the ultimate burden falling on taxpayers, who would foot the bill.
"Any time if you have to buy new equipment, if you have to get certain licensing software, if you have to hire personnel ... like that costs money," he said. "That might be a little bit more difficult depending on the size of that budget."
Several Elsmere residents, along with Owen's fellow council members, have spoken out against the request during prior public meetings Owen did not attend.
Owen said she has started a petition “to advocate for the safety, accommodation and inclusion of every member in our community”: Support Safe Non-Violent Municipal Meetings for All Including People with Disabilities.
As of now, it has garnered 109 verified signatures — with some reportedly coming from Elsmere zip codes. At this time, it is unclear how many Elsmere residents, specifically, have signed the petition.
Owen was re-elected this past November, having secured the second most votes on the ballot. She has yet to be sworn in after the rest of council took the oath of office during a Dec. 10 meeting Owen didn't attend.
"Councilmember Owen requested that she be sworn into office through a virtual ceremony rather than join the other members in the official swearing-in ceremony," a statement from the city read.
