The Village Board of Trustees passed a resolution Monday changing the fee schedule for people who encumber village sidewalks and streets.
Officials approved a resolution increasing the fines people pay for blocking a public street or sidewalk for more than an hour. The previous fines were believed to be insufficient to effectively dissuade someone from violating the law.
The fines were increased from $3 for each offense to $50 for each offense and from $2 for every 24 hours someone remains in violation of the law to $50 for every 24 hours.
The issue came to light earlier this after debris from the demolished Chase Building caused portions of a sidewalk on Main Street to be closed. When officials began looking into the legal action they could take against the building’s owner, they discovered the fees hadn’t been changed since the law was enacted in May 1915.
A public hearing on the proposed change was held prior to its approval but no one attended.
The resolution was passed by a 3-0 margin. Trustees Marge Mohn and Walt Sandford were absent.
Village to study feasibility of South Bay water line
The village will pay $3,200 to study the feasibility of repairing or replacing a water line that crosses South Bay.
The line has been a trouble spot for several years and features a number of small leaks. But repairing the problem is difficult because the line is suspended below the bridge that crosses the bay.
The study will be paid for using funds leftover from a water replacement project that was completed south of the bay earlier this year.
Money transferred to police
Officials transferred $7,000 from the village’s “junk fund,” a collection of money from the sale of unused metal water mains, into the police department’s budget.
A portion of the money will be used to purchase a 16 camera security system for the new police department.
The system has more memory, better sound quality and a sharper image than the current eight-camera system. The cost of the system is approximately $2,500.