BROOKINGS – Holly Tilton Byrne was appointed to the Brookings City Council in a 5-1 vote Tuesday. Councilor Dan Hansen was the lone dissenter.
“It was not an easy decision,” said Councilor Patty Bacon, who thanked all the applicants.
Tilton Byrne was scheduled to be sworn in today at city hall.
“I’m very excited about this. Definitely thankful to the city council members and thankful to the other applicants and people in the community for allowing me the opportunity to serve the public,” Tilton Byrne said.
Tilton Byrne said she “would move away from” the Sustainability Council, which she currently chairs, but vowed to remain involved in sustainability issues.
In other business, the council approved an ordinance stating that parks and playgrounds in the city will be closed between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. Campgrounds will be excepted from the ordinance, City Manager Jeff Weldon said. In a related vote, the council approved fines totaling $120 for violators.
The parks and playgrounds are already closed between those hours, but all officers could do was ask trespassers to leave. Law enforcement wanted to put the hours in an ordinance so violators can be cited, Weldon said.
Mayor Keith Corbett said the city had received complaints from people living near residential parks, stating that kids were in bed and there were people in the parks making noise, but law enforcement couldn’t do anything.
Ed Ballou asked if there would be signage or gates to close so people would know.
“We have not discussed the issue of signage, but it would be impossible to put up gates,” Weldon said.
Ballou was concerned that if the park hours were not posted, it would be a difficult conversation for law enforcement.
Most people who are in the parks at those hours are probably doing something they shouldn’t be doing anyway, said Dan Brettschneider, director of Parks, Recreation & Forestry.
George Hamer asked why chose 6 a.m.
The city has reviewed multiple regulations from other cities; some use dawn to dusk, others state 5 a.m. or 6 a.m., Brettschneider said, adding he knows some people walk or jog in the parks before 6 a.m.
“The intent is to not cite people in the parks before 6 a.m. that aren’t doing anything (wrong),” he said.
When the council considered assessments for sidewalk repairs, members heard from a resident about repairs that weren’t done in a timely fashion.
Howard Jorenby is one of the homeowners being assessed for sidewalk repairs done last fall. He said a 10-foot stretch of sidewalk was removed. Jorenby took a picture of the concrete-free space on Sept. 25. He thought it was such a safety hazard that he kept his light on so folks wouldn’t step in the ripped-up area.
The slab was finally re-poured almost four weeks later, but a trench was left open for another two weeks, Jorenby said, adding his family filled it themselves because it was a hazard.
“Four weeks was a ridiculous time-frame,” he told the council.
Weldon said he wasn’t sure it was realistic to have one contractor handle projects for more than 70 property owners in a short time frame, but that City Engineer Jackie Lanning had been checking on them during the process.
The council approved the assessments.
Contact Jodelle Greiner at jgreiner@brookingsregister.com.
