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Newport Historic Preservation Commission re-elects Chair Cole, outlines 2026 priorities
Summary
At the March 25, 2026 meeting the Newport Historic Preservation Commission swore in Don Spalding, re-elected Chair Cole and Vice Chair Mark Ramler, and heard staff review 2025 COA activity and 2026 plans including a local landmark nomination and a proposed Monmouth Street historic-district overlay.
On March 25, 2026, the Newport Historic Preservation Commission convened at Newport City Hall, swore in new commissioner Don Spalding and re-elected Chair Cole and Vice Chair Mark Ramler before hearing a staff briefing on 2025 activity and 2026 priorities.
The meeting opened with roll call and the administration of an oath to Don Spalding by the assistant attorney, who instructed the new commissioner to "raise your right hand and say I do"; Spalding replied, "I do." The commission then corrected a typographical error in the draft minutes for a COA related to 825 Overton and approved the minutes by roll-call vote; the motion carried.
Commissioners then conducted officer elections. A nomination recorded in the transcript as "I nominate Mike Co as chair" (the record contains variant spellings for the nominee) was seconded and, after a roll-call vote, the commission confirmed the incumbent chair (referred to consistently elsewhere in the record as Chair Cole) to serve another year. Mark Ramler was nominated, seconded and confirmed unanimously as vice chair.
Staff gave an extended refresher on the commission's legal and procedural authorities, including the Newport historic preservation ordinance, the certified local government (CLG) program, annual training requirements and Kentucky sunshine-law obligations. Staff said the city is arranging HB55 planning and zoning training for commissioners and reminded members that CLG-qualified trainings count toward the commission's annual preservation training requirement.
The briefing summarized 2025 activity: staff processed 197 certificate of appropriateness (COA) applications, of which about 31 went to the commission; staff-level approvals were reported at roughly 75% and the commission's approval rate at about 90%. Staff said three commission cases were not approved as submitted and required additional information or came back with conditions.
Looking ahead to 2026, staff announced several project priorities: filing an application to designate the Southgate Thompson House at 24 East 3rd Street as a local landmark; pursuing a Monmouth Street historic-district overlay with updated guidelines intended to allow flexible, sensitive new construction; updating surveys (noting that survey costs have risen to approximately $400–$450 per property from historical per-property estimates near $200); and considering a National Register–level survey and nomination for Clifton to create rehabilitation tax-credit eligibility for owners who pursue those credits.
Staff also described outreach and education efforts completed in 2025 and planned for 2026, including a COA process guide, website and YouTube updates, participation in the 2025 historic preservation conference, and collaborations with the Campbell County Historical and Genealogical Society. Staff noted the board of commissioners has approved a façade grant program expected to open for applications in April.
Upcoming events and volunteer requests were circulated: Northern Kentucky Restoration Weekend on April 25 (registration opens at 8:15 a.m.), the Excellence in Historic Preservation awards on May 21 (reviewers needed), and the Monmouth History Crawl on June 4. Staff said participating in a Restoration Weekend workshop can satisfy the commission's annual training requirement. Commissioners were also asked to flag any scheduling conflicts for possible special-call hearings for landmark designations so there is adequate time for public discussion.
The meeting ended after a brief question-and-answer exchange; a motion to adjourn passed and the chair declared the meeting adjourned at 5:38 p.m.
Notes: where the transcript contains inconsistent spellings for the chair nominee (e.g., "Mike Co," "Mike Colb," "Chair Cob"), the record elsewhere consistently refers to the current officer as Chair Cole; the article reports the outcome as recorded in the meeting (Chair Cole confirmed). Commissioner Spalding's recorded response during the minutes vote was transcribed as "sustain" and was clarified in discussion as linked to his having not yet been sworn in; the minutes-approval motion was recorded as carried.
