Snow removal on Safe Route to School sidewalks topic at Village board meeting
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BOYCEVILLE — The Village Board took up the subject of snow removal on the new sidewalks that were installed a couple of years ago as part of the Safe Route to School program. The village received grant monies to complete the project.
At question now is who is responsible for snow removal on those sidewalks. And, this was the topic of discussion in front of the Village Board at their regular monthly meeting on Monday, January 11th.
Since the new walks were installed, village employees have kept the sidewalks clear of snow. But, at the village board meeting the when the subject came up the question was raised, “Aren’t all sidewalks a Safe Route to School?”
Property owners along all other sidewalks in the village are responsible for snow removal. Village president Gib Krueger questioned Village Public Works head, Don Rose about how much time it takes to clear the snow from those new walks. Rose estimated about two hours of time depending on the amount of snow.
After more discussion it was moved and passed to give property owners a 30 day notice that after that time it will be the abutting property owner’s responsible to keep the walks clear of snow and ice.
The Village board took action to allow part of the former village hall to be rented out. Shanna Krueger appeared before the board and requested the board to allow her to rent one of the offices at 903 Main Street for her consulting business.
The board discussed the idea and members agreed that it would be good for the community to have another main street business and approved renting the space. The rent was set at $250.
The board also held a public hearing about granting a conditional use permit for property at 811 Main Street. Isaac Kostka appeared before the board to request the permit to change that property from a single unit resident to an apartment/duplex. The board granted the request.
During his report to the village board, Public Works Director Don Rose informed the board that he did not see any major deficiency in the upcoming sanitary survey of the water site. He also informed the board that they junked out old brass water meters. “They contain five percent lead and could not be used or sold,” he told the members of the village board.
In his report, police chief Greg Lamkin noted that his department had 1883 calls for service last year, which was an increase of 28 percent from 2019, noting that the department’s calls for service have steadily increased. The department participated in a county-wide traffic safety grant and was reimbursed $1,772. They also obtained a $2175.00 grant for some new radio equipment.
His report concluded that they “assisted the National Guard with a mobile COVID testing site and he spend a fair amount of time updating ordinances and other administrative duties. He also noted, “Due to COVID we did not hire any LTE officers, which has resulted in less coverage and a higher workload for Sgt. Rud and me. This year we can recruit some staff and work on growing the department again.”