Fillmore council talks school parking

Saturday, January 5, 2019

FILLMORE -- After its first regular meeting of 2019 Thursday evening, the Fillmore Town Council has a new president, as well as approved the go-ahead to address ongoing parking issues at Fillmore Elementary School.

After the council voted Bill Ashcraft to the position, town officials turned their attention to complaints brought to Town Marshal Darrel Bunten regarding parking along the school’s sidewalk and in front of a nearby fire hydrant. He related that these are not violations because there is currently no signage or markings which prohibit parking.

“There is nothing in any ordinance about parking in front of hydrants,” Bunten added, suggesting this is an overarching problem that has created an unsafe situation for children.

Bunten concurred with council member Robin Duncan’s point that parking in front of a fire hydrant was a state law by itself. However, he also felt that the town had to set and enforce its own rules locally.

Bunten said Fillmore Elementary Principal Debbie Steffy had talked with him about painting the sidewalk, but that marking the fire hydrant would be the town’s definite responsibility.

After he said that some indication needed to be put up to discourage parking near the hydrant, Ashcraft and the council approved for Town Maintenance Director Joe Cash to erect a “No Parking” sign. The sign will be an unused one left over from recent road projects in the town.

Though Cash was absent at the meeting, he posed a written question to the council asking who was responsible for needed repairs on a culvert pipe near Fillmore Christian Church.

Council member C.J. Huller believed that the pipe located near the entrance to the church’s parking lot was the town’s responsibility, given that the spot would lie on a town right-of-way.

Though this may be the case, both the council and Town Attorney Jeff Boggess acknowledged it could be the church’s responsibility if they installed the pipe themselves. As such, Huller said more input would be needed from church leaders and through town maintenance before any action can be taken.

The council finally heard a public inquiry by resident and local contractor Aaron Stephenson about his plans to build storage units on a lot on Westwood Road. Stephenson said the project could include as many as six units, but that they would not have to be connected to water and would use minimal lighting.

Stephenson mainly questioned whether he needed permission to go forward with the project through the council’s blessing. He was also concerned about the units falling under laws or ordinances which could prompt their removal in the future.

With the body’s agreement, Boggess provided that the council could only step in if the area was found to be unkempt per the town’s existing unsafe building ordinance. He further suggested that this would also only apply if there was a significant nuisance complaint.

“The town can’t stop construction, and we’re neutral on nuisance,” Boggess said. “There is nothing on the books we can point to preventing you from doing anything with that lot.”

However, both Boggess and Ashcraft advised Stephenson to talk with or write to neighboring residents as a courtesy before starting construction. Stephenson in turn wanted to make sure that the meeting’s minutes reflected the conversation for future reference.

The council also briefly revisited an initiative by the City of Greencastle to install a tank that would introduce a corrosion-deterring chemical into the connecting sewage. Boggess reiterated from the December meeting that the city was considering installing the tank inside its limits, rather than inside the town as was originally proposed by Greencastle Mayor Bill Dory.

Boggess further advised the council to wait until a determination on the chemical’s environmental impact had been made before making a final decision on the proposal.

The council also relayed that any Fillmore resident may request a street light repair within the town by visiting Duke Energy’s website at https://www.duke-energy.com/customer-service/request-light-repair or by calling Duke at 1-800-521-2232.

The next regular meeting of the Fillmore Town Council is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. in the Fillmore Town Hall.

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