Glass Days location still in question

DUNKIRK — With the future site of the Glass Days Festival still in doubt, officials have set a special meeting to talk about the topic.
Members of the city council will meet Monday, Jan. 24 at 6 p.m. to allow input from the public, the council and Glass Days Committee members on whether to continue holding the annual spring festival in Dunkirk City Park or returning it to the downtown area.
Mayor Ron Hunt said during Monday’s council meeting he hopes that committee members and others from the community will attend the Jan. 24 session.
“Why are we even talking about this?” councilman Eric Bowler questioned, saying that originally the festival was moved to the park because Main Street was being resurfaced with the idea that it would be moved back downtown after the highway construction work was completed.
The highway work has been completed, and it’s time to move the festivities back downtown, Bowler said.
No one from the Glass Days Festival Committee was present at Monday night’s council meeting.
In November a delegation from the committee told council members that they were interested in keeping the festival at the city park — especially this year since electrical service lines are in place. At that time the idea of adding a survey question on city water bills about where to locate Glass Days was suggested. Also the idea of holding a referendum vote was mentioned, but no action was taken on either of these proposals.
At Monday’s meeting, Bowler said that he had conducted an informal survey at last spring’s festival among carnival workers and vendors, and his findings showed they overwhelmingly preferred returning the festivities to the downtown area.
Hunt said he wanted to make a decision soon because if the festivities were going to be moved back downtown this year, a request would need to be filed as soon as possible with the state to have Ind. 167 (Main Street) closed for the festival set for June 1-4.
Hunt added that another concern was the need to restore necessary electrical hook-ups in time for the festival.
Previously, Glass Days Festival committee members reported that they did not have the resources to complete this switchover.
“The electrical problems could be solved,” Hunt said.
Council member Judy Garr pointed out that one of the findings of a recent downtown revitalization study for downtown Dunkirk called for returning the festival to the downtown area in order to promote that section of the city.
She added that the new handicapped-accessible sidewalks downtown will make it easer for those pushing baby strollers.
In other business at Monday night’s meeting, council members:
•Voted to elect Craig Faulkner as the council president for 2011, even though he was not present for Monday’s meeting. He was nominated by Bowler and ran unopposed.
•Learned that Tami Labig, a member of the Glass Days Festival Committee, had been chosen by the mayor to fill a vacancy on the city park board.
•Approved a recommendation from the West Jay Community Center board to appoint Tricia Lowe to that board.
•Voted to have city attorney Bill Hinkle draft an ordinance calling for the 35 miles per hour speed limit to be extended on Jay County Road 400 South east from Haskell Road to the city limits. City officials had previously put up a 35 mph speed limit sign in this area, but council member Judy Garr explained that it could not be legally enforced without a formal ordinance being adopted by the council. Hunt said the move was designed to slow down traffic near the city fire station and county EMS building.
•Approved a six-month extension to a certificate of deposit for city sewer utility funds, totaling $188,000, with Pacesetter Bank at an interest rate of .6 percent. First Financial Bank had submitted a quote of .5 percent.[[In-content Ad]]