By Gina Holt
Enquirer contributor

FLORENCE - The November election didn't change Florence city government.

All six council members and the mayor will keep their seats on Jan. 1.

The mayor and council each had one challenger, but the entire slate of incumbents was swept back into office.

"We are fortunate in the city of Florence to have all six of our City Council members returning for another term," said Mayor Diane Whalen.

"They have a genuine interest in the long-term vitality of the city, and knowing that our goals are the same makes my job easier. We work well together, respect each other's opinions, and work to find compromises when we need to."

The city, one of the first to experience rapid commercial growth in Northern Kentucky in the 1980s, grew 26 percent in population between 1990 and 2000, according to census figures.

Its median housing value went up 47.4 percent in that time, from $69,200 to $102,000.

And its households with incomes of $150,000 or more went up a whopping 1,026 percent, from 15 to 169.

The new residents commute an average of 22 minutes to work.

They also contribute mightily to the thriving city's tax coffers, and have recreation, water pressure and family activities on their minds.

Council members say they have plans to address all of those issues, and that the return of the entire City Council helps.

Councilwoman Julie Metzger says she is pleased that the entire council is returning.

"I think that says a lot," she said.

"We're a cohesive group and we work well together. It tells us the citizens are happy with the direction we're going. I think the mayor is doing a wonderful job and I think the people recognize that,'' Ms. Metzger said.

"We've made a lot of strides in the last two years," she added.

"We've really sat down and thought about what kind of things we want to do for the city."

Some of those include improving Mall Road, completing the aquatic center and skate park, and providing more green space.

The returning City Council is also active in the water conversion project, which will allow Boone County to purchase its water from Cincinnati.

In addition, the mayor and council are pushing forward with a plan to bring minor-league baseball to Florence.

The Frontier League team, with team manager and former Cincinnati Red Chris Sabo, plans to unveil its new name soon and expects to play ball by spring.

But "our newest agenda item will undoubtedly involve revisiting Mall Road as we review the Mall Road Corridor Study which we commissioned and are expecting soon," said Councilman Mel Carroll.

"We expect this will help guide us as we look at ways to make Mall Road and all of our business areas all they can be..

"We are currently the commercial/business hub of Northern Kentucky and we have every intention of it being that way for years and years to come.

"To do that, we know we will have to look at new ways of doing business to remain and become even more vibrant as a business center than we now are."

Councilman Dale Stephens said Mall Road needs a complete overhaul, including new sidewalks and curbs.

"Mall Road should be exciting in the future," said Ms. Metzger.

"We don't know exactly what direction we're going to take, but that's a great opportunity for us to revitalize our retail.

"We don't want empty boxes. We don't want them moving from one location to another in the city. That doesn't do us any good. We just want to keep that area vibrant.

"I think the mall would need to be a partner in trying to bring different developments to Mall Road," she added.

"I'm sure there would be infrastructure costs and different costs that I would hope they would want to share in or be responsible for."

She said she realizes that traffic is congested in Florence, but said that's part of being a business hub.

Plus, many of the congested areas - Ky. 18, for example - are on state roads, leaving the city with little control over revamping them.

"It's almost a necessary evil," said Ms. Metzger, adding that she expects the planned Mall Road connector to relieve some of the traffic.

"You need increased traffic in order for these businesses to survive. If you eliminate traffic, that means all these places are out of business. A lot of our development is on state-owned roads."

Recreation is another important issue as the council returns.

"Our immediate goals are to see the aquatic center and skate park through to completion and opening," said Mrs. Whalen.

The state-of-the-art aquatic center is scheduled to open Memorial Day weekend.

The skate park, which just garnered about $150,000 in additional funds to offset design revisions, also will open next summer.

"We also want to see our new baseball stadium finished in time for our Florence baseball team to have a place to play," said Mr. Carroll, referring to the minor-league franchise coming to Florence.

"This should be finished in early June, if things go as planned."

A neighborhood park and nature park is on the agenda, as well.

"We have made plans to acquire a lot of green space," said Ms. Metzger.

"The parks improve value of homes. They are a way to keep our neighborhoods vital.

"You can't go out and invent green space. There's a short supply and we're running out by the minute. We have to secure open areas now."

Finally, the council is concerned about having enough water as growth continues.

Over the summer, the county was under a water restriction for months, with many areas reporting extremely low water pressure.

That's not so much because of the summer's drought, but because the area has outgrown the width of its water supply pipe, officials say.

"We want to make sure that our water conversion project is completed successfully.

"At the present time that is on schedule, and we'll be using Cincinnati water by spring," said Mr. Stephens.

There are also plans to widen Turfway and Industrial roads, as well as revitalize Dream Street.

"Our street maintenance program is ongoing," added Mr. Stephens.

"We want to give people service for their tax dollar."