City of Lakeside Park
Minutes of Regular Meeting on 4/14/2025
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Markgraf called to order the regularly scheduled meeting of Lakeside Park City Council at 7:00 P.M. on Monday, April 14, 2025, in the Lakeside Park City Building located at 9 Buttermilk Pike. Those in attendance were Mayor Markgraf, City Clerk Teresa Bruck and City Attorney Greg Voss. The council members present were Tom Bernheimer, Dennis Landwehr, Cassi Schabell, Mary Ann Thaman, and Brian Waite. Absent from the meeting was Councilman Dave Wolfer.
AGENDA – With no corrections or changes to the agenda, Ms. Thaman made the motion to adopt the April 14, 2025, agenda, and Mr. Bernheimer seconded the motion. Voice vote was taken. 5 Ayes, 0 Nays; motion carried.
GOAL PLANNING MINUTES With no corrections or changes, Mr. Waite made a motion to adopt the minutes of March 8, 2025, Goal Planning meeting minutes, and Mr. Landwehr seconded the motion. Voice vote was taken 5 Ayes, 0 Nays and 0 abstain.
MEETING MINUTES – With no corrections or changes, Ms. Thaman made a motion to adopt the minutes of March 10, 2025, meeting minutes, and Mr. Waite seconded the motion. Voice vote was taken 5 Ayes, 0 Nays and 0 abstain.
SPECIAL PRESENTATION – There was a presentation by Amanda Peters, Director of Northern Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy about the new Multi-Jurisdictional Law Enforcement Navigator Program that will use the National Opioid Settlement funds received by multiple Kenton County cities including Lakeside Park to support their program.
CITIZENS ADDRESSING COUNCIL: Mike Buckingham, 286 Farmington Dr. – His concerns were about zoning regulations versus chicken regulations, health issues, and property values. He was opposed to chickens.
George Best, 36 Marian Dr. – He is the Lakeside Park Representative for Code Enforcement. He said Lakeside Park has restrictive codes vs what was presented on the new ordinance. He commented on equine therapy but was not in favor of chickens.
Lisa Hill, 37 Arcadia Ave. – She expressed concerns about the many restrictions Lakeside Park has, and advised she was in support the chicken ordinance.
Keith Hill, 37 Arcadia Ave. – He was in support of chickens and made comment that the city should trust their residents’ responsibilities for maintaining their own property.
Beth Wilson, 2542 Dixie Hwy. – She requested her petitions to be entered into the meeting minutes and requested that if the ordinance is not adopted that council consider grandfathering those residents that have chickens currently.
Katie Vieth, 2661 Van Deren Dr. – She provided information for backyard chickens, and stated she is in favor of owning chickens.
Caroline Colvin, 11 Arcadia Ave. – She is a healthcare professional who provided health concerns, as well as noise, smell and attraction of rodent’s issues. She was not in favor.
Libby Baker, 56 Locust Ave. – She agreed with what Ms. Colvin said and is opposed to chickens. She said this would open it up for other types of animals to be allowed. She had a petition, but some residents would not sign for fear of retribution from their neighbors.
Jill Tiedt, 104 Brittany Ct. – She submitted a petition from residents that requested the ordinance not be changed as livestock cannot be kept in the backyards. She also said that if this ordinance is changed then it sets a precedence for other ordinances to be challenged such as sheds, fences and other types of animals permitted. She said Lakeside Park does not have enough land for livestock animals.
Mike McKeown, 123 Brittany Ct. – He said he sent council a letter and a petition. He has some neighbors that didn’t want to sign for fear of retribution. He commented on how well and efficiently the city has been run during the past 20 years. He then stated he had attended his first meeting last month after 15 years of living in Lakeside Park and noticed there is an activist who is going to fix everything wrong with the city even if it’s not a problem for the majority. He addressed his knowledge of other cities in Northern Kentucky that require homeowners to fix their sidewalks, as he has paid for sidewalks in two other cities himself. The activist took up this cause and now our city is paying for 50% of the sidewalk cost even though 80% of residents don’t have sidewalks. He also addressed that a handful of people in Lakeside Park have chickens, and the activist creates an entire chicken movement that makes our city look ridiculous in the media. He then questions what is the next topic, would it be sheds or some other issue such as privacy fences or above ground pools? These items are distracting, and the city council should run the city and not change the ordinances because there is an activist that is pushing pet projects. Ms. Schabell said, “It’s council woman.” The mayor requested Ms. Schabell not interrupt. Residents like the way the city looks and operates, so he doesn’t think the loudest voice in the room should have the options to change the rules.
Angela Harper, 123 Napoleon Ridge, Warsaw, KY – She attended the meeting on behalf of her sister, Beth Wilson and her niece, Kirsten. She said that her niece is autistic, and the chickens are very beneficial to her as emotional support.
Paul Rizzo, 209 Applewood Dr. – Lakeside Park resident for 25 years, he knows nothing about chickens so he could not advocate for them, but asked if all the neighbors agreed to it for this one specific case, would council consider it?
Abigail Chen, 7 Birdsall, Fort Mitchell – It is her understanding that Fort Mitchell does allow chickens. They have neighbors with chickens, and she has had no issues and property values are not affected. She said people should have freedom of self-sufficiency as chickens are a great source of protein and they also provide companionship.
Hannah Kral, 2690 Gayle Ct. – This is her first council meeting, and she was shocked when she received the instructions for attending council meetings. She was concerned about retribution for her participation and free speech at a council meeting.
Joan Arlinghaus, 14 Paul Hesser – She said this is her first council meeting and the executive order caused her to have concerns about speaking out. She said she called the city office 3 years ago and was advised she could have chickens but that it would fall under nuisance ordinance and if neighbors complain then it would be an issue that then she could not keep them. She addressed concerns about other animals attracted by the chickens, and stated when she lets them run free, they eat the mice, and she no longer has a mice issue. She also talked about the cage they are housed, she has no smell. She concluded by asking the council to check with the other 19 cities that do have chicken ordinances.
Mike Lippert, 15 Buttermilk Pike – He and his wife Molly are against the proposed chicken ordinance. The chicken petition to adopt has a few hundred signatures but we know a few people who signed that they really do not want chickens. He feels Lakeside Park should be unique and prohibit chickens.
Jim Wilson, 2542 Dixie Hwy – He is in favor of the ordinance for chickens, but it needs a few changes. He is not advocating for livestock, but poultry only. He said 20 houses in Lakeside Park currently have chickens. He said there is valid concern about diseases, but backyard chickens have a lower risk than farm chickens. He references a case of Bowling Green versus Duncan in which the city cannot override state statue.
Adam Perkins, 84 Arcadia Ave. – He said dialogue is important for a community to discuss matters. He does not and will not own a chicken, but he feels it is important to discuss this matter. He talked about and will address later about detached garages as residents on Arcadia could benefit from them. He said there are pros and cons to all these discussions but encouraged the council to have an open mind when voting. He asked about insurance taxes paid to the city and how much revenue it has been brought into the city. The mayor advised Mr. Perkins he would be happy to discuss that later.
MAYORS REPORT: The mayor talked about the memorial park commemorative bricks that residents can purchase. He then advised about the waste receptacles ordinance and the sign boards needing to be replaced. He attended the mayor’s group meeting and learned about OKI grants, but was advised they will not cover sidewalks or city roads. Another discussion at the mayor’s meeting involved an attempt going on in Frankfort to regulate any local control of city ordinances affecting Airbnb rentals. He advised our city does have a registration, not as a money maker but for emergency contact information only. He advised we will have a new fiscal year budget. Last, he addressed the executive order’s comments in saying that he appreciated everyone’s comments, it was not intended to intimidate anyone from any kind of presentation or your ability to have free speech but merely designed for no disruption of the meetings.
CITY ATTORNEY REPORT: Mr. Voss then read the second reading of Ordinance No.2-2025 Amending Chapter 51 of the Code of Ordinances entitled “Animal Services.” Ms. Schabell made the motion to adopt Ordinance No. 2-2025, and Ms. Thaman made a motion to second. Ms. Schabell made a motion to amend Ordinance No. 2-2025, and Ms. Thaman made a motion to second. Council discussion for the amendment to Ordinance No 2-2025 included: Ms. Schabell said her reasons for the amendment were after a discussion with a resident who stated he has a son with health issues, and he would not want chickens in his yard. She also addressed that the containment of chickens would have to be regulated differently for different neighborhoods. Ms. Thaman said the amendment to the ordinance is going to open a big can of worms. We have strict fence ordinances and if chickens can fly a fence, then that is not going to keep a chicken in your yard. Ms. Schabell said (Ordinance No. 2-2025) has worked in neighboring cities and maybe the council needs to look at changing other restrictions.
Roll call was taken for Ordinance No. 2-2025 Amendment, results as follows:
Tom Bernheimer nay Mary Ann Thaman nay
Dennis Landwehr no Brian Waite nay
Cassi Schabell yes
Amendment does not pass with a vote of 1 Aye, 4 Nay and 0 abstain.
Council discussion continued for Ordinance No. 2-2025 included: Ms. Schabell inquired if the other council members would be willing to discuss what would work in the city or will this issue die today. Ms. Thaman said she spoke to a lot of residents about the chickens, and she had very strong opposition to this issue.
Mr. Landwehr addressed Mr. & Mrs. Wilson that he read their proposal cover to cover, and he assured there was no one more sympathetic to their cause, but he wished they had just limited their survey to Lakeside Park. He thanked them because he said he had spoken to people he had not spoken to in 10 years because of their signage. He said there are multiple issues with this ordinance, and he did a lot of research as well as his own survey and he tried to be fair minded, but his vote will reflect his decision.
Mr. Waite said he didn’t have much more to add, but that the council members are elected to listen to all points of view and consider the issues and decide about what is best for the entire city.
Mr. Bernheimer also agreed with the other council members; he added that they must consider the ramifications for everybody. He advised, he read Wilson’s proposal and answered multiple emails. But the emails in favor of chickens were a form copy, and the only difference is who signed it. The emails of those who opposed took the time to provide details of their opposition versus copying what someone else had given them. He also stated that he received emails apologizing for signing the petition before looking into the issue and requested him to vote against allowing chickens. Discussion in the community caused a lot of confusion, and he did not like how this issue was dealt with. But his decision would be reflected in his vote.
The mayor read an email from Mr. Wolfer in opposition to the chicken ordinance so that residents knew is opinion but understood that he could not be considered in the vote as he was not present at the meeting.
Ms. Thaman commented that this was a very hard decision, and it was not meant to be cold-hearted in any shape or form.
Roll call was taken for the originally proposed Ordinance no. 2-2025, results as follows:
Tom Bernheimer no Mary Ann Thaman no
Dennis Landwehr no Brian Waite no
Cassi Schabell yes
Motion to adopt Ordinance No. 2-2025 does not pass with a vote of 1 Aye, 4 Nay and 0 abstain.
Mr. Voss then read the second reading of Ordinance No. 3-2025 Amending Section 20.210 of the Code of Ordinances, entitled “Meetings,” to establish Rules of Procedure for meetings of the City Council.
Ms. Schabell made a motion to adopt Ordinance No. 3-2025, and Ms. Thaman made a motion to second.
Council Discussion for Ordinance No. 2-2025 included: Ms. Schabell said the key part of the ordinance is the collaboration of a sponsored piece of legislation between our city attorney, mayor and other council members. So, the one section about the legislative procedure is the big part. Right now, we have something that is unwritten, but another council woman indicated that it is how we currently operate already. Ms. Schabell said it’s not such a bad idea if that’s what we are doing, then we should have a written policy so that if something needs to be changed, it can be.
Ms. Thaman said she did some research, and she feels (Ordinance 3-2025) is for a bigger city. She doesn’t think having more committees is necessary and doesn’t see a need for this ordinance. She looked at our current ordinance and she feels that we may need more caucus meetings. Such as goal planning at the beginning of the year, a budget meeting and maybe a follow-up meeting in the fall to see how much we have accomplished with our goals.
Mr. Bernheimer said this city has been doing a pretty good job in all the years I have been on the council. He doesn’t feel that adding rules and regulations are going to make them do a better job because our city is in good financial shape. He said if it’s not broken, you don’t fix it.
Roll call was taken for the originally proposed Ordinance no. 2-2025, results as follows:
Tom Bernheimer no Mary Ann Thaman no
Dennis Landwehr no Brian Waite no
Cassi Schabell yes
The motion to adopt Ordinance No. 3-2025 does not pass with a vote of 1 Aye, 4 Nay and 0 abstain.
Mr. Voss then read the first reading of Ordinance No. 4-2025, enacting and adopting a supplement to the Code of Ordinances of the City of Lakeside Park, KY with American Legal Publishing.
Mr. Voss then read the first reading of Ordinance No. 5-2025, amending Ordinance No. 7-2024, adopting the City of Lakeside Park, KY, Amended Budget for the Fiscal Year July 1, 2024, through June 30,2025.
Mr. Voss then read Resolution No. 6-2025, authorizing the Mayor of the City of Lakeside Park, KY, to execute an Interlocal Agreement with the Kenton County Fiscal Court for the use of National Opioid Settlement Funds.
Mr. Waite made a motion to adopt Resolution No. 6-2025, and Mr. Bernheimer made a motion to second.
Voice Vote was taken 5 Aye, 0 Nay and 0 abstain
Mr. Voss then read Municipal Order No. 3-2025, accepting the contract extension of Best Way of Indiana, Inc. for a continued term of July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027.
Mr. Landwehr made a motion to adopt Municipal Order No. 3-2025, and Ms. Thaman made a motion to second.
Voice Vote was taken 5 Aye, 0 Nay and 0 abstain
Council discussion for Municipal Order No. 3-2025 included: Ms. Schabell inquired if the service was being changed. The mayor advised this is an extension to what we currently have with Best Way. If we change any of the services, it will have to be bid out and under the advice of other mayors the pricing has gone up significantly, so the choice to extend with Best Way was a better option.
Ms. Thaman added that there service is pretty good and great to deal with when garbage is not collected. Since Best Way is in the area, they will come back to collect the missed resident.
Mr. Bernheimer said he was one of the first to complain about once-a-week trash collection, but he quickly changed his mind when he saw the cost proposals for more than one day. He has no complaints about their service, and he has no problem moving forward with their proposal.
The mayor advised that this is a contract extension and not a whole new proposal. We did jointly bid on this with the City of Fort Mitchell, and because Best Way is in Fort Mitchell five (5) days a week, it gives them the flexibility to address someone in Lakeside Park not getting their trash out in time or other issues.
Voice Vote was taken to adopt Municipal Order No. 3-2025 5 Aye, 0 Nay and 0 abstain
Ms. Bruck called a point of order to ask if this should be a roll call as it involves money. The mayor advised roll call should be taken.
Roll call was taken for Municipal Order No. 3-2025, results as follows:
Tom Bernheimer yes Mary Ann Thaman yes
Dennis Landwehr yes Brian Waite yes
Cassi Schabell yes
Municipal Order No. 3-2025 passed with a vote of 5 Aye, 0 Nay and 0 abstain.
Mr. Voss read Municipal Order No. 2-2025, addressing the City Council, Meetings, and Code of Conduct. Mr. Waite made a motion to adopt Municipal Order No. 2-2025, and Mr. Landwehr made a motion to second.
Council discussion for Municipal Order No. 3-2025 included: Mr. Waite said it is the mayor who sets the rules and runs the meetings, and he did not see anything that is objectionable. But noted that as such it is in effect subject to disapproval by the council, so it is in effect already and we are merely strengthening it by voting in favor of it. Comments made earlier about suppressing residents’ ability to import or being expelled if they expressed their opinion, but perhaps something got misinterpreted as it says profane, slanderous remarks or boisterous while addressing council or disruptive behavior. He assured everyone that it is not the intent. But he also said during his time on the council, they have never had any kind of code of conduct or decorum, rules have not been necessary until this current year starting in January. The tone of meetings changed, and it is sad an ordinance for decorum needs to be in place. He did advise this meeting has gone smoothly, but if you go back and look at the previous meetings since January, there has been some disruptive behavior. So that is why I am in favor of having this order in place and He supports it.
Mr. Bernheimer said he agreed with Mr. Waite. It is unfortunate that we have found ourselves in this position, but the first 3 meetings have proved necessary to implement this to guide use and refer back to when issues arise.
Ms. Schabell said she agreed with Brian Waite. In going back and looking at the meetings. She referenced one meeting that was recorded but not released. She said she has it if any constituents would like to reach out to her. She feels this is a good start, but it needs to be improved. She said there is a part for legislative, but nothing about conduct with staff members or even the presiding officer. She had concerns with section A and would like to strike through sections A 6, 7, 8, 9,11, 12 and 13. She thinks this is going to make our city very vulnerable to litigation.
The mayor asked for clarification that she is making a motion to amend the code of conduct.
Ms. Schabell said yes.
The mayor asked for a second, but the motion died for lack of a second.
Ms. Thaman said she agreed with Mr. Waite and Mr. Bernheimer that this meeting was nothing like the first three (3) meetings of the year. It was very calm and respectful, and everyone had the chance to voice their opinion. She said she was sad that there is a need for it and hoped things would calm down.
Voice vote to adopt original proposed Municipal Order No. 2-2025 was taken, 4 Aye, 1 Nay and 0 abstain
CITY CLERK/TREASURER’S REPORT: Mrs. Bruck said she was awarded the 2025 Kitty Johnson Scholarship for the Municipal Clerks Institute training. She noted the city’s domain had been changed to a more secure domain of .gov and if anyone encounters problems, contact her.
FIRE/EMS: Assistant Chief Hampton provided details from the Fort Mitchell Fire Department report submitted to the council. Ms. Thaman did ask about who to contact to set up CPR and babysitting classes and was advised to contact Mark Kaelin.
PUBLIC WORKS: Mr. Bernheimer provided status updates for all the public works projects. The mayor added comments that they did have a pre-construction sidewalk meeting, and the contractors are ready to begin, so letters will be going out to residents soon. He advised the letters are time-sensitive, so your prompt response is appreciated.
POLICE AUTHORITY: Mayor Markgraf provided a summary of the minutes and activity Lakeside Park Crestview Hills Police reports. Mr. Waite added since we have a larger audience than normally, he wanted to highlight the level of professionalism of our police department is incredible, including the continued education, professional development, re-certification and more. He thanked the Chief and Patrolman Armstrong who were present at the meeting for all they do.
PDS: Mr. Waite said PDS did not meet, so there was no report.
FINANCE: Mr. Waite reported he did come to the office last week and reviewed the finances and everything was spot on as usual. He indicated that we only had two (2) tax bills outstanding and were turned over to the city attorney for processing.
MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT LEAGUE OF NORTHERN KENTUCKY (MGLNK):
Mr. Landwehr reported MGLNK did meet last month, and it was well attended by Judges, Mayors and Council Members from all over the region. They had guest speakers from the Kentucky Association of Counties, Kentucky League of Cities, received information on a few bills from Frankfort in relationship to road improvement bills, possible lower taxes, large increase in disaster relief fund, election improvements, EMS bills, new Medicare advisory board, municipal audit, a representative from the Governor’s office, and State Representative Frommeyer was in attendance. The chairman of the meeting had a reoccurring theme for the meeting and that was collaboration. There were many issues that were debated throughout the night, but at the end of the night the members remained friendly, and they all worked together for the benefit of the communities. During the round table discussion on the topic of public engagement, the members at his table said that Lakeside Park appears to be doing everything we possibly can to reach out to our residents by our sign board, newsletter, emails, social media, and how we address residents first thing on our agenda for the evening meetings, to involve public engagement in city business. One mayor said Lakeside Park is a 10 of a 10 when it comes to this department. Mr. Landwehr said he was happy to say that it was through our past and present mayor and council members that we hopefully do our best to do an open dialog with our citizens.
RECREATION: Ms. Thaman said the Easter Egg Hunt was well attended with no major issues. She then spoke about the upcoming senior luncheon on April 30th, the Kenton County Senior games registration is April 15th for the May events, the next senior bingo on June 10th will be here at Lakeside Park, the city is hosting a shred it week at the city building June 2nd through June 7th, and a large item pick up day is set for June 7th. Mr. Landwehr commented that he has had several inquiries for information on the shredding event and said this is a very valuable event for the citizens.
OLD BUSINESS No old business.
NEW BUSINESS Ms. Schabell made a motion to allow the residents that currently have chickens to be grandfathered in so they can keep what they have. The mayor asked if there was a second motion, but the motion died for lack of a second.
COMMENTS FROM COUNCIL: The mayor thanked everyone that was present. He said he appreciated the courtesy, the way everyone presented their statements as well as motions and arguments. This is the way meetings should have been.
ADJOURNMENT:
At 9:14 PM Mr. Landwehr made the motion to adjourn the meeting, and Mr. Bernheimer seconded the motion. Voice vote taken 5 Ayes, 0 Nays; motion carried.