BY GREGORY A. HALL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON -- The possibility of an Ohioan serving as a voting member of the board overseeing the Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky International Airport was resurrected Thursday.
The idea of an Ohio seat on the Kenton County Airport Board received support from most elected officials at a rare joint meeting of the Hamilton County commissioners and Kenton Fiscal Court.
Participants billed the meeting as a starting point for discussions on several issues facing both counties, including a light-rail river crossing, separating Interstates 71 and 75, and joint water service.
"I hope this is the first and not the last meeting of the governing bodies," Hamilton Commissioner Tom Neyer Jr. said.
Kenton Judge-executive Rodney "Biz" Cain and Fiscal Court Commissioner Steve Arlinghaus both endorsed having an Ohioan as a voting member of the seven-person airport board. "There's plenty of seats there to share one," Mr. Arlinghaus said.
But both said they'd like to see Northern Kentuckians get something in return, such as a seat on Cincinnati's convention center board. The topic has been a political hot potato in the past. The airport board is probably the most-sought-after political appointment in Northern Kentucky.
The airport board and its composition is set by Kentucky state law. Most airport boards in Kentucky have six voting members, but the Kenton board has seven because the actual airport is in another county. That member must be from Boone County.
Several Ohioans serve as members of the airport's 10-member advisory board. Those members attend board meetings and can vote in committee meetings where many policy decisions are hashed out. Voting members are appointed by the judge-executive. Advisory board members are recommended by the judge-executive and appointed by the governor.
Requiring the judge-executive to appoint an Ohioan as a voting member would take a change in state law by the General Assembly, said David Schneider, an attorney in the Ziegler and Schneider firm that represents the airport.
Mr. Schneider said he does not know whether the judge-executive could voluntarily appoint an Ohioan.
Hamilton Commissioners John Dowlin and Bob Bedinghaus also stressed the need to monitor how jet noise impacts residents on the west side of their county.
The airport has hearings scheduled next week on future construction projects that include a new north-south runway and an extension to an existing runway.
Mr. Bedinghaus said the current airport board is more receptive than those in the past.
"The airport's going to continue to grow, and I think you have to accept that," he said. "And it should grow and we should encourage it to grow."
Mr. Dowlin said residents have been monitoring jet noise, and will release results soon showing how often that has exceeded acceptable levels. However, he said the problems are not severe.
Officials from the two counties also discussed the need for a decision on where a light-rail mass transit system might cross the Ohio River.
The cities of Cincinnati and Covington want the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge used, but officials with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and the regional committee studying light rail question whether the bridge can handle the tracks.
A consultant for the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments' (OKI) I-71 Corridor committee, which is examining the issue, said a route must be decided on before environmental impact studies could be done.
The committee has looked at ways to improve traffic flow between the airport and Paramount's Kings Island. The group selected light rail as the preferred alternative for the 33-mile strip. Early estimates call for a price of at least $1.1 billion.
"That project from my standpoint is not going to move forward until that decision is made," said Hamilton Commissioner John Dowlin, who is a member of the OKI committee.
OKI Executive Director Jim Duane said engineering and economic impact work could proceed, but a decision on the route needs to be made in the next few months.
Mr. Cain questioned the need for any new mass transportation system. "I have not been in what I call major traffic jams yet," he said.
Some of the officials also said they support a new bridge linking western Hamilton County with Northern Kentucky, possibly at Villa Hills.
Some also said they support separating Interstates 71 and 75. Mr. Cain said one way to do that would be to create a western connector road that would go from Cincinnati's north side, swing southwest to Kentucky and go past the airport.
Another route mentioned would take I-71 traffic north from where it currently links to I-75 in Boone County over into Campbell County, where it would connect to I-471.
Mr. Cain also advocated privatizing or consolidating the regional water districts.
Boone County's district is considering buying water from Cincinnati, while several other Northern Kentucky counties are considering a new treatment plant that would supply water to all.
