Race car exemption halted by council (04/04/06)

A local man’s request to exempt race cars from a city ordinance drew a red flag from Portland City Council.

Rural Portland resident Brian Stocker had asked the council several weeks ago to revise the city’s junk vehicle ordinance to allow race cars to be stored outside garages in the city.

Council members again reviewed the request Monday night, but moved on to another topic after only one comment by a city council member.

Stocker, who works on his race car at a home in Portland, did not attend the meeting.

Only council member Bill Gibson commented on the requested amendment, which would allow race cars to set outside as long as they are covered.

“We’ve been through this,” Gibson said. City officials are trying to clean up the city. If race vehicles are allowed to set outside, people may take advantage of the ordinance and leave junk vehicles and demolition derby cars out, he said.

Also Monday, the council heard a Portland man’s request for the city to vacate portions of an alley and street.

Terry Robinette, 326 W. Ninth St., owns property located on the north side of Ninth Street, along an abandoned railroad bed.

Local youths drive all-terrain vehicles on the street to access a lane across the railroad bed. The lane leads to a field and wooded area. The kids drink alcohol and have parties in the area, Robinette said.

Despite the fact it was never improved, Ninth Street is platted across the old railroad bed, an employee of the Jay County Auditor’s office said this morning.

Robinette and College Farms own property on each side of the Ninth Street right-of-way across the railroad bed.

If the city vacates the street, Robinette said he would erect a fence with a gate to keep ATVs from accessing the field through that route. Since Robinette does not own all of the currently platted street, any fence across any portion of the street would have to be approved by College Farms.

The access is also used by a company which built a cell phone tower in the field several years ago, and by Homan Farms, which owns the field to the west of the railroad bed.

Robinette also requested that a portion of an alley which runs east-west in between Ninth Street and McLaughlin Avenue be vacated. A portion of the alley has already been vacated and is used by his neighbor, he said.

Council members tabled the requests until they could be reviewed.

In other business, the council approved six tax abatement compliance forms for local businesses granted 10-year abatements.

Based on the recommendations of the Portland Tax Abatement Advisory Committee, the council approved forms for Performance Tool, Inc., Moser Engineering, Accelerated Curing, Inc., Pennville Custom Cabinetry, Portland Economic Development Corporation and Joyce-Dayton Corporation.

The abatements were granted to expand each of the businesses. The PEDC was granted an abatement several years ago to build a spec building, which currently is being leased by XPLEX Extreme Competition Park owner Glynn Barber.

Council members vote yearly on the compliance forms for each abatement.

Also Monday, council members:

•Heard street and park department superintendent Jeff Harker say an Indiana Department of Transportation official plans to investigate the possibility of temporarily placing a no right turn on red sign at the intersection of East Main and Meridian streets while the Weiler Building is being renovated.

Harker said he received a complaint from a local resident who thought it was unsafe to turn right on red there because the company doing the renovations has placed a trailer on the east side of Meridian Street, obscuring the view of northbound traffic. Harker looked at the intersection and decided installing the sign might be a good idea, so he contacted INDOT.

In related matter, Bruce Hosier, mayor of Portland, told council members he gave construction company, Limberlost Construction, Geneva, permission to close a portion of the sidewalk located along the west side of the Weiler Building while brickwork is being done, to prevent injury to passers-by. The building is set to be the new home of the John Jay Center for Learning.

•Learned from Bob Brelsford, wastewater treatment plant superintendent, that the Gerber gravity sewer project recently began.

Brelsford said work on the project — which is expected to reduce the amount of sewage handled by the north lift station — began on March 27. Currently, the north lift, located along Industrial Park Drive, is doing more work than it can handle, causing it to sometimes overflow during heavy rain.

He also said that any resident who lives on West Water Street or West Main Street, between Pleasant and Park streets, needs to put trash in front of their homes, rather than in the alleys, until further notice. This should be done Monday through Friday.

•Heard Harker announce that free mulch and compost are available to local residents.

The materials can be picked up Monday through Friday at the city’s dumpsite located along the west side of North Morton Street, behind Doane Pet Care. Beginning Monday, a street department employee will be at the site to load the materials for local residents. The mulch and compost can be picked this week, but residents will have to load it themselves, he said this morning.

•Were invited by Hosier to attend the Mayor’s Roundtable April 20 at 11:45 a.m. at the Portland Golf Club, 124 West 200 South. Mayors from throughout the state are expected to be in attendance.[[In-content Ad]]