Portland council deletes yields

Portland City Council made official changes to the city’s ordinance book Monday, deleting all yield signs and adding two-way stops at the affected intersections.
Council also heard the annual report from Portland City Court Judge Donald Gillespie, and got an update on the Portland Water Park project.
Street department workers replaced yield signs with stops signs in December and January after council members decided in November it was best to replace all of the signs rather than dealing with them one by one. They had received a request in the fall from a resident concerned about yield signs on Grand Street at its intersection with Walnut Street because of the number of children living in the area and the proximity to Judge Haynes Elementary School.
Council members Bill Gibson, Judy Aker, Kip Robinette, Kent McClung, Don Gillespie, Mark Hedges and Michael Brewster decided then to wait until the signs had been replaced before making the change to the city’s ordinance book.
More than 150 yield signs were removed, with the most affected areas being Alexander and Grand streets on the west side of the city and Shank Street on the southwest side.
Gillespie told council his court dealt with 1,479 cases in 2014, which is down by 51 from 2013. He pointed out that the stretch of cold weather in early 2014 led to just 230 cases, most of which are traffic infractions, in January, February and March after more than 400 during the same period in each of the previous two years.
The court had $165,984.98 in receipts for the year, which was down about $20,000 from 2013.
Gillespie, in his role as a member of Portland Park Board, also answered a question from Brewster about the status of the Portland Water Park project. He said the goal is for project bidding to be done by the end of March with construction to follow and be completed sometime in the fall.
In other business, the council:
•Heard from Geesaman that there will be a public meeting at 6 p.m. March 31 at East Jay Middle School with a representative from the Indiana Department of Transportation about the Indiana 26 East project.
The construction, which will include new water and sewer lines, road, sidewalks and lighting, is slated to begin in the spring.
•Discussed the removal of trees along Meridian Street in downtown Portland. Mayor Randy Geesaman said all removals have been at the request of business owners.
•Established a Police Benevolence Donation Fund for any donations that are given to Portland Police Department.
•Agreed to close Morton Street near Jay County Fairgrounds during the Tri-State Gas Engine and Tractor Show Aug. 21 through 26.
•Approved payment of claims totaling $1.59 million.