By Keith Knepp
InkFreeNews
NORTH WEBSTER — It will become pretty pricey expense for North Webster homeowners who don’t tend to their lawns. During Tuesday evening’s monthly meeting of the North Webster Town Council, it was unanimously approved to set the charges at $50 per hour for labor and $50 per hour for equipment fees should the town need to come and mow the lawn on private property. The charges are on top of the $75 fine assessed by the town, as established by previous ordinance.
Town attorney Jack Birch was instructed to draw up a new ordinance that reduces the period from which a warning against an overgrown lawn is given to the time the town takes action to take care of the problem.
Once the new ordinance is in place, if the grass in a yard reaches a height of nine inches, a stake will be put in the yard that is visible to the resident. After five days, if the lawn is not tended to by the property owner or resident, the fine will be assessed and a crew dispatched to mow.
According to Town Marshal Greg Church, under the current ordinance the town must wait10 days after a written warning is delivered by the police department before action is taken. That wait will be significantly reduced once the new ordinance is passed, presumably at the next meeting on June 18.
In other business:
• Utilities Superintendent Mike Noe informed the council that maintenance continues throughout the town, including spraying for weeds along the town curbs, as well as sweeping the streets. Another pass with the street sweeper will be done next Monday morning prior to the Memorial Day parade, as well as an emptying of the downtown trash cans. Street sweeping will be done again on Tuesday morning to clean up debris left from the parade.
• Paving in town is mostly complete, according to Noe. This was possible as part of the Community Crossing Grant received by the town.
• The new street department truck has been delivered. Noe said he is still waiting for the bed and the plow, which will both be installed at the same time.
• Eric Ivory, municipal account representative for Borden Waste-Away, addressed the council regarding the town’s account with the company. He said he has been working with North Webster Clerk-Treasurer to correct a billing error, which ended up in a $48,000 refund to the town.
• Ivory proposed a renewal of his company’s contract with the town, which expires at the end of June. The new contract proposal would increase the monthly cost per residence from $11.47 to $11.81. That amount would go up to $12.17 the following year. Currently, the town charges residents $12 per month, which would also be adjusted if the contract is renewed at the higher rate. The council plans to make a decision on the matter during next month’s meeting.
• Alan Frank, board president of the Senior Primelife Enrichment Center, addressed the council to update the organization’s activity. He informed the council that SPEC’s longtime director, Nancy Gray, has stepped down from that role. Christy King has been hired and is currently serving her 90-day probationary period on the job. Gray has been volunteering her time to help King with the transition and will continue to be a presence at SPEC moving forward, only in a voluntary role.
• Frank noted that SPEC has increased its hours from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to instead opening one hour earlier each weekday. He pointed out that this one hour increase will require an extra $3,000 annually in pay for the director. He also noted that the annual calendar sale, which has been spearheaded by Fred Clark and provided an extra $2,000 per year, will likely not continue in 2025, meaning more lost revenue. The annual budget for SPEC is approximately $46,000, so that shortfall is significant, according to Frank.
• North Webster Community Center Executive Director Emily Shipley addressed the council regarding the paving of the Center’s parking lot. Birch noted that he would give Shipley a notice that would be published informing neighboring residents of the paving plan and offering them an opportunity to object. Birch suggested that he did not expect any remonstrators on the paving.
The next meeting of the North Webster Town Council will take place at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 18, at the NWCC. The public is invited to attend.
