Residents press council over future of Memorial Parkway greenspace; council says drainage fix is budgeted

Residents and council members at a Fort Thomas City Council meeting questioned the future of a city-owned parcel at Memorial Parkway and pressed for clarity about whether it could be sold or developed.

The discussion began during public comment when a resident asked whether the land had been a gift to the city and whether any restrictions accompanied the gift. City officials replied the land “came with no strings,” and that the current plan is to make the site a park. City staff said the only item in this year’s budget for the site is a drainage repair; any further work or change of use would be considered by the recreation committee and then brought to council for public review and comment.

Council members and residents weighed trade-offs including the cost and technical difficulty of stabilizing the site. City staff told residents that stabilizing the whole parcel for a building would be expensive and unnecessary unless a building were proposed; the council noted the city would only stabilize areas needed for low-impact amenities such as a parking lot or trails.

Speakers offered several possible, lower-cost interim uses. One resident suggested a pollinator garden and said Campbell County Extension Service grants might help cover planting costs. Council members responded that low-impact, low-cost options were plausible but warned that subsurface instability makes stabilization costly: officials estimated a drainage-only repair at roughly $300,000 and said more extensive work to allow heavier improvements could rise into the hundreds of thousands; one speaker cautioned a complete stabilization for structures could reach multimillion-dollar levels.

Council members emphasized process: if a private developer expresses interest again, the administration would gather information, hold any necessary executive-session discussions, and—if the city considered the project viable—bring it to the public and to council for a formal decision. Multiple speakers said the city would not move forward with a sale or development without public input.

The conversation concluded with council staff saying the parks/recreation committee will review options and residents were invited to submit ideas. For now, repairs to address drainage remain the only item budgeted for the site.