By Burton Cole
FALMOUTH—Mental health was on the minds of Pendleton County Fiscal Court magistrates during their June 9 meeting.
Rob Vonckx, chief of operations and strategy for NorthKey Community Care, presented a rundown of mental health services offered in Pendleton County and gave updates on what’s new and coming.
Fiscal Court will review the county’s contract with NorthKey and take action on it in July, Judge Executive David Fields said.
Magistrates Alan Whaley and Josh Plummer both noted that it had been years since a NorthKey representative had visited Fiscal Court to explain services.
“We really want to bring the focus of creating partnership and relationships with communities,” Vonckx said. “We really want to be good community partners.”
The commonwealth of Kentucky is divided into 14 regions, and Pendleton County is in NorthKey Region 7 with Kenton, Boone, Campbell, Grant, Carroll, Gallatin and Owen counties, he said.
Behavioral Health Clinic services include outpatient mental health and substance abuse screening and treatment, 24-hour crisis services such as suicide hotlines, psychiatric rehab, primary care and veterans’ services.
“Crisis services over the last few years have expanded tremendously,” he said.
In Pendleton County in 2025, NorthKey had 878 clients, completed 13,656 visits, and averaged 20 clients a day in the Falmouth office, Vonckx said.
Reasons for the increase include more need, better marketing so that more people are aware of help and lessening of the stigma attached to seeking mental health, he said.
Relatively new is a mobile service that allows staff to go to people’s homes. An urgent care clinic will be opening in the next few months, and telehealth services that began during the coronavirus epidemic are continuing, he said.
“(Telephone number) 988 is 911 for mental health,” he said.
In other business:
• County Development and Tourism Director Tami Vater presented a $58,535 tourism budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.
Of that money, $37,500 is projected to be collected in taxes from bed-and-breakfasts venues and other places for overnight stays in the form of transient room tax revenue.
Top expenses include $38,535 for advertising and promotion, $8,500 for brochures printing and distribution, and $3,000 for setup at the Kentucky State Fair.
“One of the things we we’ll be doing differently this year is going more digital,” Vater said of marketing efforts. “We’re trying to increase overnight stays as well as day trips.”
The more people who visit Pendleton, the more that local businesses are supported and the more jobs and opportunities there are for economic growth, she said.
The court both approved the budget and approved the appointment of Kristan Getsy to the Pendleton County Tourism Commission to fill the unexpired term through June 30, 2027, of Alex Carson, who stepped down.
Getsy is a former television reporter and photojournalist, and founder of Life’s Eyes Media. She has a direct connection to Pendleton County tourism through Seeds of Glory Rentals, which includes the Owl’s Nest on Cahill Road in Demossville, a large-group, short-term rental property.
• Kenny Gibson of Pendleton County Search and Rescue asked the county to once again contribute to the annual budget, but to give $13,500 this year instead of $12,000 to help offset rising insurance costs.
He noted that Falmouth City Council just upped its annual donation from $7,000 to $7,500.
Magistrates approved the donation, with Magistrate Rick Mineer saying, “It’s a vital service they provide to the county for that little money.” He also noted that Search and Rescue is staffed by “lots of volunteers who pour their hearts into this.”
• Under reappointments, magistrates approved James Beebe for another three-year term on the Northern Pendleton County Fire Board, Sadie Turner and Josh Tackett to two-year terms on the Recreation Board, and Terry Logan for a four-year term to the East Pendleton Water District Board.
They also approved the appointment of Bret Ries to the Airport Board.