The Pilot News - Town Council revisits old issues

In attendance with the Kings was former town and zoning inspector and officer Ellen Elliott who assured those present that there had not been a sidewalk on the north side of the property (the area in question) for more than 31 years.
“There possibly could have been one there when the old house was built, but when it was burnt, I’m sure it was torn out,” Serita King said. “Our intention is and was to fill in the area (around the planter) with limestone, but it has not been delivered.”
She said that she did not want to shorten the width of the planter that was recently installed. “Our request was to reduce the planter to three feet?” asked council president Larry Wattenbarger trying to recall the discussion, to which he was reminded that it was.
“What I’m trying to do is put more sidewalks in the community,” explained councilman Gary Collins. “There was a complaint that brought it to our attention and we didn’t want something obstructing the right-of-way if we want to put one there in the future.”
Collins then asked of Keyser what the town’s specifications were in regard to right-of-ways between sidewalks and the street as it had been addressed in the past regarding tree planting to which Keyser replied he wasn’t sure, but that he knew of no ordinance regarding planting trees.
“There was a big bush there and a flower bed around it so we really didn’t change anything,” said Bill King, his wife noting that some properties had rock gardens and such right up to the street.
All the councilmen agreed again that the work the King’s had done to the property was a great improvement and Wattenbarger and Collins said they had addressed the issue so promptly because of potential safety issues of not having a walkway for pedestrians to use.
“I apologize on behalf of the board for not checking (to see if there had been a sidewalk there),” said Wattenbarger. “It was misleading to see the other one (at an adjoining property) leading up there.”
Collins wanted to assure that in the future, should the town wish to have a sidewalk installed there that the Kings would be willing to cooperate with allowing access and change of the landscaping at the location to which Serita King replied, “Down the road, if you wanted to change it, we have nothing against it. We would be more than happy to cut that back. We may not even want it there. “
She added in the future, before decisions are made by the council, she hoped the people involved would be contacted.
Serita King also said she was unhappy about the recent article in the Bourbon News-Mirror regarding the May council meeting addressing the sidewalk issue. At the earlier meeting Wattenbarger had asked Keyser, after listing the many improvements made to the home, property and grounds: “So they never contacted us about anything they d done?” The answer to which, from Keyser was, “No.”
Misunderstanding of the exchange sparked controversy as it seemed the family had not contacted the town about anything they’d done, and the question, directed to the zoning and ordinance specialist in charge of sending the note to the family, and his reply, only added to the confusion.
At a meeting with Bourbon’s Clerk-Treasurer Kim Berger Tuesday morning, it was noted that the family had gotten the proper ordinances for remodeling and adding to the home and though they did not acquire as to whether there was anything needed to replace or alter existing areas with (or without) sidewalks, and that the one on the east side of the property was replaced, there was not a town ordinance that required them to do so.
Decking and other attachments however, are expected to have permit requests prior to action.
• In other revisiting, the council addressed an issue regarding a water repair job done by the town at the Triton football field.
“The meter is housed in the school’s pit and over the winter. the meter housing wash crushed,” said town utilities superintendent Mike McFarland. “We had thought at first it was due to vandalism but it wasn’t.”
The bill for the repair came to $1,705.32, and the schools’ insurance deduct-ible was said to be $1,000.
School board member Jerilyn Anders was present to address the issue and said she had hoped the town would consider paying for part of the bill. McFarland said he felt the town shouldn’t suffer the entire damages, “as it was an act of God,” and the council and Anders agreed the town and school would split the bill 50/50.
• A representative from the Community Resource Center initiative had contacted the town several months ago asking for a donation toward the project which would consolidate many of the county s social services organizations to one location.
Berger said recently, a representative contacted the town again asking for a list of the town’s vendors to solicit for the cause and again asked for a donation from the town.
“I didn’t want to give him the list (of financial resource contacts) without your permission,” she told the council. After some discussion, the three-man panel chose not to allow the release of names, but said that in the future, they might be inclined to offer a monetary donation to the organization’s endeavors should finances allow.
• A request by a homeowner living near the little league baseball fields to extend the height of the fence surrounding the northernmost baseball field to 12 feet was considered, discussed and denied. The extension of four additional feet would cost $1,500 and a six-foot extension would cost $2,300. Town officials felt a ball traveling at a height to meet the property’s window would clear a fence of even 12 feet and if any child could hit a line drive from the home plate, the child was a sure thing for a future in the major leagues.
It was noted that the hits that had taken out the windows in the past were due to practices and games with older players (12-15) that normally played on larger fields, not regularly on the little-league fields.
Bourbon Assistant Police Chief Bill Martin said the complaints the department had received in regard to the broken windows were from the older kids playing home-run derby.
“Those that I have seen that do make it over the fence there roll up to the house,” said councilman Tim Perkins. “Putting the fence up wouldn’t stop the balls that were hit (high enough) to hit the windows.”
• Also addressed were accessible bathroom facilities at the old school softball field which is now used by the little league for tee-ball games. Wattenbarger had suggested getting a portable toilet for the littlest players to access during games to prevent them from having to walk all the way to the park to use the restroom.
“When they have to go, they have to go now,” he said. The little league will pay for the toilet to be delivered and maintained throughout the month of June while the field is being used.
In other news:
• The new library director was introduced to the council and welcomed with open arms. Heather Barron, Bourbon resident and Triton graduate, said she was very excited about her new position and that she has many new things planned for the library’s patrons. It was noted that Barron was selected from 20 applicants from North Dakota to Michigan.
• Resident Marilyn Gochenour brought to the attention of the board her pond being filled with runoff from the ditch near her home which is now covered with an oily scum that resembled khaki soup. After some discussion, it was decided that Gochenour and Berger would contact the county since the ditch is its jurisdiction, to see what can be done to resolve the problem.
• Collins asked about a large water bill he received for his usage which was the result of a water leak that wasn’t easily identifiable. He said the town had agreed to waive the wastewater portion of the bill but not the water usage.
“I figured, why should I pay for it if I didn’t know about it?” he asked. “It would be different if I knew about the problem and didn’t get it resolved but I had the water turned off at the valve and tried to limit the use to offset the cost.”
Berger said she didn’t care what the council did as a result, but that it shouldn’t be a case-by-case reassessment; a general rule or ordinance should be in place to prevent people coming from years past expecting a credit for similar situations. “I had no indication,” said Collins. “I had a town employee come out and they couldn’t find why the meter was spinning.”
“We did that for the ones that had estimates over the winter months because they didn’t know and we couldn’t read it,” said Berger, “and in the past, in other situations, we’ve adjusted for the wastewater, the most expensive of the two, but never for the water.”
“I’m totally against someone getting hit with a big bill that they didn’t even know about,” said Perkins. Collins said he was already having to face repair costs because of the issue and didn’t feel he should have to pay for the excessive cost that he was unaware of.
“We notify the homeowner if they have a large bill to assure they know and if it is on the town’s end (as a responsibility to repair),” Berger said. “Many of our citizens are struggling. What if they have a leak and have to wait to get it fixed?”
After more discussion. the council requested that Mc-Farland check with other towns with independent water utilities to see what their policies were in regard to similar situations so they could do what was fair.