Council had a rather lengthy meeting Thursday as this was our first meeting in over a month with the Thanksgiving holiday and it involved a lot of clean up of items for going into next year such as renewals for our utility contracts and movement of some funds between City accounts to make sure our budget stays balanced. We also approved the funds to include a new open air shelter at Adell Durbin park that will be over the new restrooms to be constructed there and extend out to allow for some picnic seating as well.
Council also re-appointed several residents to our Cemetery Board, Income Tax Board of Review, Parks & Recreation Board, Planning Commission, Urban Forestry Commission and Zoning & Appeals Board. There was discussion about the Arts Commission appointments and the current structure of that commission which requires appointment in pairs by Council and the Mayor, which Council did not have any appointments to match Mayor appointments last night. I am going to reach out to the Mayor on this commission and see if we can simplify this process going forward so appointments are not held up because of requiring paired appointments. Council also has appointments available for the Income Tax Board of Review so if there are any residents interested in serving on that board, please reach out to myself or any other member of Council for additional information.
Council also approved the hiring of several positions within the City all related to upcoming retirements. First was a police officer from our current civil service list, then a Deputy Finance Director/Income Tax Administrator, and finally a Specialist-Roads for our Service Department. Council also had legislation before them last night to hire an Assistant Prosecutor for the Law Department which was approved, this new hire replaces a recently resigned Assistant Prosecutor.
Council also had a first reading related to an amendment of our Zoning code that would allow for a crematory to operate in I-2 Industrial zoning in our City. The I-2 Industrial zoned properties are primarily along Hudson Drive, Commerce Drive, and Allen Road within the City. Some of these areas are adjacent to residential property therefore the Planning Commission recommended that this type of business should only be permitted on a conditional basis that the structure would be at least 250 feet from any residential property. This topic had come up in the past when Redmon Funeral Homes had requested to put a crematory at their funeral home on Route 91 and the use in that area was not allowed based on the proximity to residential properties. This is just a first reading of this topic and Council will have a public hearing along with two more readings to be able to get feedback from residents on how they feel on this zoning code amendment.
Council has one more regular meeting scheduled on December 30, 2020 which will only be used if there is any emergency topics that needed discussed prior to the close of the calendar year, if no items arise then Council will reconvene on January 4, 2020 at 8 PM for our annual organizational meeting where Council President, Vice-President and President Pro-Tem will be elected.