City faced with golf cart issue
Greencastle residents feeling the pinch from rising gasoline prices are starting to consider more economical methods of transportation. But we're not talking about bicycles here.
City council members learned Tuesday night that some residents have actually contacted city hall to ask about driving golf carts in and around town.
This has forced city officials to take a serious look at whether allowing the use of these vehicles on city streets is first and foremost legal, but more importantly, safe.
Mayor Sue Murray said other cities around the country are dealing with the same issue as citizens get more desperate to save money on fuel.
For Murray, the issue that stands out in her mind is safety.
"You have large trucks traveling on our highways and golf carts aren't the fast-moving vehicles," she said after Tuesday night's city council meeting.
City attorney Laurie Hardwick said she may have a proposal for an ordinance to bring to next month's council meeting.
So far, city officials have not said whether they would actually consider allowing people to use their golf carts to drive around town, but they agree there needs to be some type of language regarding the use of these types of vehicles on the books.
The mayor says the city is just beginning to investigate the issue at this time.
In other business, the council received a briefing on the recent heavy rains that blanketed the city with several inches of rain.
One issue that has arisen from the recent deluge is neighbors dumping water on their neighbors.
The city attorney reminded council members that it is illegal for residents to run hoses or pipes or use any other method to release water from their property to their neighbor's property.
It is also illegal, she said, for homeowners to connect their downspouts to the sanitary sewer. Logistically, it is difficult for the city to enforce this standard, the attorney added.
Utilities Superintendent George Russell told the council that the city has received complaints of residents having sewage back up into their basements.
He said residents are sometimes to blame because they connect the downspouts to the sewer lines, which causes an excess amount of water.
The city attorney added that in some cases, the city is at fault for back-ups and that an investigation would have to determine that.