Chesapeake to vote on weeds, litter: Council sends fire levy to fall ballot
Published 9:19 am Wednesday, June 5, 2019
CHESAPEAKE — Mayor Tommy Templeton said Chesapeake council members will soon have ordinances pertaining to high grass, weeds and litter to consider for a vote.
Templeton said at Monday’s meeting of council he has been working on the proposals and they were nearly ready.
“I may to call a special meeting on this,” he said.
He said the village is also looking into including an ordinance dealing with abandoned trailers for consideration.
He said the village now has a “nest egg” of $100,000 and that it could be used for tearing down trailers.
The council also accepted the auditor’s report on the renewal of the 1.5 mill fire levy and voted to send it to the Nov. 5 general election ballot.
Templeton said the five-year levy is estimated to bring in $13,000 for the Chesapeake-Union Volunteer Fire Department.
In other business, the council:
• Discussed restricting parking in front of the Connect Link building on Second Avenue.
“I talked to several residents and they don’t appreciate the idea very much,” Templeton said.
He asked the council if any would put forward a motion to restrict traffic. As none did, the idea died.
• Voted to retroactively hire Wes Humphrey as street supervisor, with a date of May 20. Humphrey is filling the position vacated by Josh Cooper, who left for another job several months ago.
• Heard from Templeton, who said he has been in discussions with Lawrence County Community Action Organization on the possibility of hiring workers for street services. He said these workers would be those who have dealt with addiction and gone through recovery programs.
• Discussed the absence of a traffic signal on Big Branch Road. The light was damaged by lightning last summer and council voted to remove it. Members said they have heard complaints about traffic backups from those who live on the road. Templeton said to fix the problem, they would need to acquire a control box, which is of some expense. The mayor and council said they would continue to work for a solution.
• Heard from the owner of Marcum Pumping, who requested and received approval from the council and the mayor to host a family movie night several times over the summer in the village’s park.