Union's new Town Square park will offer free public Wi-Fi when it opens in early 2027, after the city commission voted Aug. 3 to approve $4,452 to extend wireless service into the 16-acre space at 2085 Brilliance Ave.

The vote, reported by Link NKY, also covered $10,772 for IT hardware in the new city building under construction at the same site, bringing the total IT spending to $15,224. But the Wi-Fi approval came with a wrinkle: Commissioner Kimberly Tuyn pushed city staff to explore requiring users to register before they can connect.

"I'm just thinking in the event somebody ever comes to us and says, 'Hey, we have some type of record of who accesses public Wi-Fi in your car,' we have some ability … Not that we're monitoring it by any means, but I don't see very often free Wi-Fi without some type of a registration mechanism to access it without a password," Tuyn said at the meeting.

The system Tuyn described is called a captive portal, a login screen that appears before a user can browse. Covington already uses one for its "Covington Connect" network, requiring an email address and security questions.

City Administrator Paul Kremer, who was hired by a 4-1 commission vote on July 6, told commissioners the park Wi-Fi would be password-free and low-speed, geared toward basic connectivity during public events rather than high-bandwidth streaming.

Commissioner John Mefford, presiding as mayor pro-tem in Mayor Larry Solomon's absence, backed Tuyn's suggestion. He said the city should explore mechanisms that would let officials run a report showing who used the network if law enforcement ever made a formal request.

Tuyn stressed that city officials would not actively monitor the logs. Records would be accessed only on a law enforcement request.

Kremer and City Attorney Greg Voss agreed to research captive portal options and report back before the park opens.

The Town Square project broke ground in August 2025 on a 22-acre site that will house a new city administrative building, a splash pad and a public performance space. Florence-based Mark Spaulding Construction is leading the work under a contract the commission approved unanimously in July 2025.

No timeline was set. Kremer and Voss will present their findings before the park's early 2027 opening, but no specific meeting date was announced.