Winter Heating
Hot Spots
Winter’s coming and heaters around the country are firing up. But did you know that home heating is the second leading cause of residential fires? Most home heating fires are caused by poor equipment maintenance and/or failure to follow basic safety rules. So before you put logs in the fireplace or plug in the electric heater, please take some precautions.
FURNACES: Your furnace should be checked regularly by a professional. The flame should burn bright, steady blue and should never come outside of the furnace. If you hear or smell natural gas leaking from your furnace lines, evacuate the house immediately and use a phone outside the house to call 9-1-1.
FIREPLACES: Fireplace chimneys regularly build up creosote which can ignite, leading to a serious fire. Chimneys need to be cleaned out frequently and inspected for cracks and obstructions. Never burn trash, paper, or green wood in your fireplace because these are difficult to control and cause heavy creosote buildup. Also, use a fireplace screen that is big enough to cover the entire opening of the fireplace to catch flying sparks and heavy enough to stop rolling logs.
WOOD STOVES: Wood stoves cause over 9,000 residential fires a year. When buying a wood stove look for a solid construction of plate steel or cast-iron metal. Inspect and clean your stove pipe and chimney on a regular basis and check monthly for damage or obstructions. Be sure to keep combustible objects at least three feet from the stove.
SPACE HEATERS: Supplemental heaters like electric and kerosene heaters cause more than 120,000 fires a year. You should only use heaters with the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) safety listing. Read and follow all instructions in the owner’s manual. The heater should be placed on the floor, away from combustible materials, and out of high traffic areas. Never put anything on top of your space heater. Never leave the heater unattended of with unsupervised children. Electric should be unplugged when you go to bed or leave the house. Kerosene heaters should be turned off if you go to bed or leave the house. And only use crystal clear K-1 kerosene in your kerosene heater-never gasoline or camp stove fuel.
CARBON MONOXIDE: Along with fire, another potential danger of home heating is carbon monoxide poisoning. If you have any appliances or equipment that burn fuel such as propane, natural gas, fuel oil, kerosene, wood, coal, pellets, etc., you should install a carbon monoxide detector to detect the presence of carbon monoxide in the home.
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PROPERTY TAX BILLS
The 2023 City of Fort Wright Property Tax Bills are arriving in mailboxes. Payments are due by 5:00 pm on Friday, December 29, 2023.
We always offer the following CONVENIENT PAYMENT OPTIONS:
ONLINE – Online payments can be made by visiting our website or clicking here:
Please note – Online payments are accepted by credit card payment ONLY via our online payment portal and are subject to additional bank processing fees.
MAIL – Mail your payment to our secure payment processing center utilizing the envelope enclosed with your tax bill. Please remember to include your payment stub. Payments sent via mail should NOT include cash. We do accept personal checks, money orders, and cashier checks made payable to the City of Fort Wright. Payments sent by mail should be addressed to City of Fort Wright, PO Box 950278, Louisville, KY 40295-0278.
United States Postal Service Postmarks dated on or before December 29, 2023, will be accepted.
IN-PERSON – Visit our office Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM, for in-person service. We are located at 409 Kyles Lane, Fort Wright, KY 41011. In-person payments can be made by cash, check, money order, cashier check, or credit card. We kindly ask that you bring your tax bill and payment stub with you for processing.
DROP BOX – Contactless or After-Hour Payments can be dropped in our Drop Box, located near our lobby entrance at City Hall. Please do NOT deposit cash into our after-hours drop box. Drop box payments should include your payment stub and can be made by personnel check, money order, or cashier check made payable to the City of Fort Wright.
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Fort Wright Historical Photo
Fort Wright Veteran's Memorial
Located at City Hall
Dedicated in May 2000
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Homestead Exemption and Disability Exemption Values are determined every two years by the State Legislature based upon the Cost of Living Index. The current (2023 & 2024) exemption (property assessment reduction) is $46,350. Are you entitled to the Exemption?
For additional information, call the Kenton County PVA at 859-392-1750 or visit their website here.
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Mark Your Holiday Calendars
Monday, November 27th 2023
Santa's Mailbox Arrives
Send your Letters to the North Pole!
Saturday, December 2nd, 2023
Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony
6 pm at City Hall
Saturday, December 9th, 2023
Santa's Neighborhood Visit
Begins at 2 pm
Saturday, December 16th, 2023
Holly Jolly City of Fort Wright Day
Behringer Crawford Museum
Details TBA
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Hoxworth Blood Drive
Thursday, December 7, 2023
1:30 pm - 3:30 pm
Donor Bus in Parking Lot
Fort Wright Municipal Building
409 Kyles Lane
Every donor gets a Holiday Shirt!
Appointment Required, please visit:
or call Hoxworth at 513-451-0910 to schedule your lifesaving donation.
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Northern Kentucky
Veteran's Day Program
Sunday, November 12, 2023
2 pm
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UPCOMING CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS
The Fort Wright City Council meets the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month at 6 pm. Meetings are held at City Hall in the Council Chambers, located at 409 Kyles Lane. All meetings are open to the public.
Wed - November 15th, 2023
City Council Meeting
Wed - December 6th, 2023
City Council Meeting
Wed - December 20th, 2023
City Caucus Meeting
Haven't been tuned into your local government's activities lately? No worries, you can catch up quickly by visiting our website, and/or any of our social media pages.
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South Hills Civic Club
Small Event Venue
South Hills Civic Club, located at 10 Bluegrass Avenue, is newly renovated and available for rental. The facility accommodates up to 80 individuals seated and is the perfect place to host your family and friends.
To learn more about rental availability and fees visit our website by clicking here.
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Fort Henry Reconstruction Project
Phase 1 of the Fort Henry reconstruction project is complete, and we are pleased to report that it was completed ahead of the November 30th completion deadline.
Phase 1 of the project consisted of full reconstruction with new concrete pavement as well as the addition of roadway under-drainage. In partnership with SD1 some new storm water infrastructure was added as well. Prior to the roadway construction, the Northern Kentucky Water District installed a new water main between Lookout Ct and Pickett Drive. We want to thank everyone for their patience as we completed Phase 1 of this much needed improvement to Fort Henry Drive.
Phase 2 of the Fort Henry reconstruction will be put out for bid this winter. We are anticipating construction on Phase 2 to begin in Spring 2024. The second phase of the project will take place on Fort Henry between Amsterdam and the concrete section near 422 Fort Henry, as well as, between Pickett and General Drive.
Anyone with questions or concerns are encouraged to contact our Public Works Director Jeff Bethell at [email protected] or 859.331.1700.
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The Importance of House Numbers
Every house has an assigned identifying number that displays your home address. Although these numbers are important for the mailman and guests visiting you, house numbers are crucial for emergency personnel when responding to the location of an emergency.
When 911 is called to report an incident or emergency, dispatchers receiving the call have a key job to do by determining where the emergency is taking place. The call takers must then relay the location to the proper emergency responder such as law enforcement, the fire department, or ambulance staff. When emergency personnel are responding to the location of the incident, they are relying on accurate information from the dispatcher to ensure that they are going to the correct address.
There isn’t always someone available to wave down a Police Officer or a Firefighter/Paramedic and direct them to the location of the emergency, so the emergency personnel responding are depending on those numbers in front of a residence or business. It is difficult for emergency vehicles to find homes or businesses whose address numbers are not clearly visible or properly posted. Searching for the location where the address is not appropriately marked can increase the response time and possibly negatively impact the outcome of the emergency situation.
Places to Post House Numbers
- Directly on your house or apartment.
- By the street on a post or sign made of fire resistant, break-away material.
- On a mailbox or curb.
Essential Home Address Tips
- If your home is set back from the street and cannot be seen from the road, post the house numbers at the entrance of your driveway.
- If there are multiple houses that use the same driveway to access their home, each address should be posted at the entrance of the driveway and then again at each individual home.
- Make sure the numbers are large enough and can be easily seen from the road. Numbers should be at least four inches tall.
- Numbers should be in a contrasting color from the color of your house so the address stands out and can be quickly spotted.
- Select numbers that are easy to read and not in a cursive style design.
- Keep trees and plants trimmed to not block the house numbers.
- Install a light above the numbers or use reflective numbers so the address can be noticeable at night.
- It is not recommended to post the numbers on the front door or the garage as you may have it in the open position and not visible.
- Although numbers displayed as words may look unique, it may be difficult to read and is more appropriate to display the numbers in numerical format. Example: Use “123” instead of “one two three”
- Maintain your house numbers. If your house numbers accumulate dirt, wipe them off to keep them clear and visible.
- If you have painted house numbers, touch them up as they begin to fade or chip.
- Try standing at the road in front of your house. Check if you can easily see your house numbers. If not, make the necessary changes to properly display your address.
Response time is critical, and the time it takes to pinpoint a precise location can mean the difference between life and death. CAN LIFESAVING PERSONNEL FIND YOU?
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Safe Internet Shopping
Exchange Zone
In today’s social media world more and more people are conducting the exchange/sale of items through the internet. Routinely, the buyer and seller meet in public locations to make the exchange of sale items. This practice of meeting in a public location is a wise move in these situations, and we discourage you from inviting strangers to your home for this purpose.
As a result, we have established a Safe Internet Shopping Exchange Zone at City Hall. The main parking lot area adjacent to the City Building at 409 Kyles Lane is under 24 hour video surveillance. Additionally, our police department operates out of the adjacent building We strongly encourage the use of this location for facilitation of “Internet Shopping Exchanges”.
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Need Further Assistance - Contact Us! |
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Emergency.........................................................911
City Hall (Non-Emergency)..............859.331.1700
or Visit Us in Person: Monday - Friday; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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