Boone County will get a new top engineer and a half-dozen new hires across public safety, parks, and solid waste after the Fiscal Court took up a packed agenda Tuesday, July 14, in Burlington.
The biggest personnel move: Public Works Director Tom Logan was appointed interim county engineer, replacing Rob Franxman, who is retiring Friday, July 31, after seven years in the role. Judge/Executive Gary W. Moore called it a bittersweet moment.
"This is mixed emotion here because this is exciting for Tom and a new era, but it also means that we're losing Rob Franxman, our current county engineer," Moore said at the meeting, according to LINK nky.
County Administrator Matthew Webster said the transition was years in the making. Logan was hired by Boone County in summer 2023 after an eight-year career with Toyota of North America and nine years as the City of Covington's director of public improvements. Franxman, who joined the county in 2019 after more than 19 years with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, oversaw projects including the Rural Water 3.0 expansion, the Camp Ernst Road and Longbranch Road roundabouts, and the Graves Road/I-275 interchange.
Franxman will attend one more meeting, Tuesday, July 28, before Logan takes over.
New hires across county departments
The consent agenda included six staff appointments made by Judge Moore:
- Hope Edelbroich — Animal Control Officer I, Animal Services
- Kelli Higginson — permanent part-time Internal Auditor, Finance Department
- Martha Wilson — Public Records and Administrative Coordinator, Public Safety Communication Center
- Haley Cobb — Dispatcher, Public Safety Communication Center
- Bailey Flynn — Operator I, Solid Waste Division
- Ben Brown — Parks Laborer Flex, Parks Department
Seasonal parks staff were also appointed.
Infrastructure and budget
The agenda included several capital projects: an agreement with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet for the Chinquapin Hill Road resurfacing and approval of 1,900 feet of new water main on Turner Road as part of the Rural Water 3.2 project. That project is part of the county's broader effort to bring public water to more than 400 homes in western Boone County; construction on Chambers Road and Kelly Road is already complete or nearly so, according to county records.
An underground fiber agreement with Team Fishel would connect the Administration Building, the new Public Safety Communications Center/Emergency Management facility, and the Sheriff's Office.
Fiscal Court Order #1 authorizes $2,367,166.60 in transfers within the adopted fiscal year 2026-27 budget.
Zoning and other business
Zoning Services Planner Lauren Elliott presented a first reading of an ordinance to rezone approximately 5 acres at 10090 East Bend Road, owned by Kirby and Charmaine Mynhier, from Agriculture to Rural Suburban Estates. A second reading and final vote would follow at a future meeting, potentially as soon as July 28.
The court also revisited its Administrative Code update, which Commissioner Chet Hand moved to table at the June 23 meeting over grammatical errors and inconsistencies.
Official minutes and vote tallies from the July 14 meeting had not been posted to the county website as of Thursday, July 17. At recent prior meetings, all votes were unanimous.
The next Fiscal Court meeting is Tuesday, July 28, at 5:30 p.m. at the Boone County Administration Building in Burlington. Agendas and minutes are posted at boonecountyky.org.
