By Kerry Rahm
krahm@wbcowqel.com
A five-minute parking space located outside the New Washington Village Hall has been a lingering issue for the Village Council.
On Monday night, the council debated over whether to remove the parking space to make it a true “No Parking Zone”, or to keep it as temporary parking.
Council members discussed the actual length of the space, the convenience of it, citizens like it for “dropping off paperwork,” and the possibility that emergency vehicles may be obstructed by large trucks using the space. In the latter case, the village would have to post a sign stating that a vehicle may have to be moved in case of emergency.
Chief Jeffrey Shook made a point to mention that police have been instructed not to park their cars in the space.
After much consideration, council unanimously decided to keep the space for temporary parking.
Another recurring subject also surfaced at the meeting- the opportunity for the village to install a tennis court at the park. Councilman Joe Blum said he spoke to the Community Foundation for Crawford County about a possible partial grant for construction as the time limit for larger grants expired at the beginning of this year.
Administrator Norm Lucius said the area set aside for the court is 27-feet-wide and 78-feet-long, allowing for the installation of one court on which at least four people could play at once. Surface sealing, painting, and fencing are all factors that must be included in the cost. Lucius and Blum spoke about getting bids and budgeting for the project this year, pushing actual construction into 2017.
In other matters, the council discussed options concerning daily pool maintenance, street paving, and the return of village recycling boxes. Clerk Julie Cronau presented the members with a new, wireless doorbell/camera for use at the Village Hall courtesy of the company Ring.com.