Residents Seek Alternative to Etna Green Parking Ban
Posted
Jordan Fouts-
ETNA GREEN – Dissatisfied with a plan to ban parking in winter, Walnut Street residents will bring an alternative to town council next month. Cheryl Cook and two other residents attended the meeting Tuesday to ask council not to punish them for people not moving their cars when the street needs plowed. She said the restriction would leave her family with room to park only two of their four vehicles, and that they’re willing to work with the town when vehicles have to be moved. The rule would ban parking on South Walnut Street from 10 p.m. to 6 p.m. in November through March, between the railroad crossing at the north and High Street at the south. Council drafted the ban after discussing in recent months the difficulty in plowing around parked cars, and the challenge of notifying vehicle owners when they need to move or of determining factors like snowfall amount for a conditional parking restriction. To be legal and fair, the restriction would have to be an all-or-nothing proposition, council told the group. “I wish we could make an exception for some people, but it has to be a rule that covers all,” member Keith Claassen said. Town attorney Jay Rigdon suggested residents of the nine or so homes in the affected area get together and agree on a news source they would all check for a town notice that vehicles must be moved. Council President Andy Cook said he had no problem with that and invited the group to return next month with their decision. Also Tuesday, council voted to move the town garage sale to coincide with the Randy Miner Memorial Country Run June 7. Race director Todd Hoffer requested the change, saying it would be neat to have more community events on the same day. He added the run is picking up steam, with food now planned as well as live radio coverage by WIOE and a list of sponsors. For more information about the race, visit etnacountryrun.com And council decided the town will not be able to donate to either Triton Schools project that Superintendent Donna Burroughs presented last month, new science curriculum and a campaign to declare the old gym on Bourbon an historical landmark. “I don’t think we’re going to impact their capital campaign – we’re too small potatoes,” councilman Todd Slabaugh remarked. They also discussed roof repairs to the park building, which is expected to cost $40,000 to $50,000. They will need to determine how the town will pay for it before gathering bids.
