Covington council approves multiple zoning and budget items; consent calendar adopted

The Covington City Council adopted its consent calendar and approved a set of ordinances and budget amendments during the meeting, including a rezoning tied to a restaurant and bed‑and‑breakfast purchase, a surplus equipment declaration and a multisegment budget amendment that includes a $1,000,000 state grant to the Boys & Girls Club.

Council members voted to accept the consent calendar at the start of the meeting. After public comment and a presentation, the council voted to adopt Ordinance 2025‑07‑02 (zoning case 25‑06‑04ZC) to rezone a parcel commonly referred to as the Annadel property to permit a restaurant and a four‑bedroom bed‑and‑breakfast. Purchaser Pat Gallagher addressed the council and said he plans to return the historic property to commercial service. The vote on that rezoning recorded unanimous support from council members present.

The council also heard an item declaring city equipment surplus and approved sending the listed items to public auction; City staff noted the list includes vehicles and IT equipment that must be removed from the city’s books. A separate budget amendment (referred to in the agenda as 2025‑08‑02) cleared the council after discussion; that amendment reallocates several utility and drainage line items and confirms a $1,000,000 state grant for the Boys & Girls Club facility. City administration told the council the Boys & Girls Club has secured additional private property donations and a separate $1.5 million anonymous gift, and said officials expect to break ground on that project this fall.

Councilman Bushnell presented a rezoning (2025‑08‑03) to change a parcel in Square 36 from CN (neighborhood commercial) to CR (regional commercial) for an automotive repair use; the council voted to adopt the ordinance. Earlier agenda introductions included multiple draft ordinances to amend the zoning map, the zoning and building regulations, and introduction of the 2026 operating budget; the 2026 budget will be placed on the November 4, 2025 meeting for action, with workshops scheduled September 25 and October 23 to review the proposal with administration and department heads.

The council also noted several procedural items: the minutes from the August 5, 2025 regular meeting were before the body, and administrators reminded the council of upcoming workshops and public hearings tied to adoption of the 2026 operating budget. No controversial votes were recorded on these regular items; recorded roll calls for the ordinances mentioned above showed unanimous or near‑unanimous support as reflected in the meeting record.

Councilmembers and staff closed by reminding residents that the council will convene again on October 14 for its regular meeting and that administration will circulate more details on the Boys & Girls Club grant and the Tyler Street corridor study in coming weeks.