CRESCENT SPRINGS — The prospect of merging Crescent Springs and Villa Hills has come up at least three times in the past two decades.

        Two months ago, the neighboring Kenton County cities finished a yearlong merger study.

        But now it appears that a proposal to combine the two cities is dead.

        In separate meetingsthe past week, residents of both communities raised a lot of questions, city officials said. None spoke in favor of a merger.

        “We had a good dialogue,” Crescent Springs council member Jim Collett said of Monday's merger discussion attended by 30 city residents. “But absent a large grass-roots effort by residents of both cities, I think the issue is just going to die on the vine.”

        Ditto for Villa Hills.

        At a public hearing last week,none of the 22 Villa Hills residents in attendance spoke in favor of merger, Council Member Denny Stein said. Four of Villa Hills' elected officials also indicated they would likely oppose putting the issue on the ballot.

        “There were a lot of unanswered questions,” said Villa Hills council member Tim Sogar. “The report shows no clear advantages to merger, and there's been no hue and cry from the residents to merge.”

        Without a consensus favoring merger or a list of clear-cut advantages, Mr. Sogar said, “the ball is in Crescent Springs' court.” City officials there initially approached Villa Hills about merger talks.

        In January, the two cities released a study that evaluated the pros and cons of a merger, but offered no recommendation. A majority of Crescent Springs (population 3,931) and Villa Hills (population 7,948) residents would have to approve a merger at the polls.

        Mr. Collett, who served on a merger task force, acknowledged that residents of the two cities haven't shown much interest in merging.

        “That's unfortunate, because I think a merged city would be better equipped to handle our future needs,” Mr. Collett said. “But the feeling I'm getting from the citizenry is that (a merger) is not worth the trade-off of the loss of identity and voting power.”

        Although the merger study called for adding more police and possibly a city administrator, Mr. Collett said the new city could save as much as $300,000 to $400,000 over a period of time, largely by reducing the police force and cutting duplicate positions elsewhere.

        Villa Hills council member Bob Kramer said he is weighing the pros and cons of a merger, but he thinks the issue should be put to a vote.

        “I believe this issue is too important for 14 people to decide,” he said.
       

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