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Fort Thomas Design Review Board elects new officers; approves GROW grant for Schnell building
Summary
At a Fort Thomas Design Review Board meeting, members elected Benjamin as chair and Mark as vice chair after Jeffrey Seckenheim announced he would step back from chair duties. The board also approved a GROW grant application from Chris and Karen Schnell for exterior and maintenance work at 907–911 North Fort Thomas Avenue.
The Fort Thomas Design Review Board elected Benjamin as chair and Mark as vice chair and approved a GROW grant request from property owners Chris and Karen Schnell for painting and building maintenance at 907–911 North Fort Thomas Avenue.
Board members opened the meeting at 6:00 p.m. with officers and attendance taken after staff noted that Sherry, who normally handles board secretary duties, was out sick. The board discussed chair responsibilities after Chair Jeffrey Seckenheim notified members he would be stepping back from chair duties because of job and family commitments; Seckenheim remains on the board but is not seeking the chair position.
The board then considered nominations. A board member moved to elect Benjamin as chair and Mark as vice chair; another board member seconded the motion and members approved it by voice vote.
The Schnell applicants described plans to repaint and perform general building maintenance on all three sides of their property at 907–911 North Fort Thomas Avenue, keeping a white or off-white base with black trim. The Schnell application was presented as part of the city’s GROW grant program, which accepts applications beginning in October and evaluates them in December for interior and exterior building upgrades, ADA improvements, HVAC work and other tenant- or customer-facing improvements. Board members noted that exterior projects in some areas are brought before the Design Review Board for evaluation as part of the GROW grant process even when the property sits outside the board’s usual jurisdiction.
During discussion, the applicants raised a separate concern about trees between the building and the adjacent park that now obscure access to the masonry wall, complicating painting and wall maintenance. Staff members said the city’s general services and parks departments have observed the same decline in the trees and that replacement or other work in that pocket park is under consideration; the board clarified that the tree work is a city parks issue and not directly a DRB decision.
A member moved to approve the Schnell GROW grant application as submitted; another member seconded and the motion passed by voice vote. Members congratulated the property’s new tenant, Anderson Jewelers, which had a ribbon cutting the same day.
Other routine motions — approval of minutes from the Nov. 21 meeting, adoption of the board’s calendar (four Thursdays per month at 6:00 p.m.), and a motion to adjourn — were made and approved by voice vote during the meeting.
Votes at a glance - Approval of Nov. 21 meeting minutes — motion made and seconded; approved by voice vote (individual roll-call not recorded). - Adoption of 2025 meeting calendar (four Thursdays per month, 6:00 p.m.) — motion made and seconded; approved by voice vote. - Election of officers — motion to elect Benjamin as chair and Mark as vice chair; seconded; approved by voice vote. - GROW grant approval — motion to approve Chris and Karen Schnell’s application for 907–911 North Fort Thomas Avenue (exterior paint and building maintenance); seconded; approved by voice vote. - Motion to adjourn — approved by voice vote.
The board did not record a roll-call vote for any motion; outcomes were taken by voice and affirmed with “Aye.”
