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The 47-page Council packet is attached HERE

By Andy Chappell-Dick

The meeting started at 7:00 p.m. sharp with the customary invocations. Minutes were approved and bills were paid. Then Mayor Johnson looked at his watch, and explained that a Public Meeting had been embedded in this Council Meeting, officially set and advertised for 7:05.  It was 7:01.  After some murmuring, it was suggested in the meantime perhaps Councilor Dave Steiner could give a report for the Finance Committee. Steiner stated that the Committee had met to discuss an extension of a tax abatement for Diamond Manufacturing, which they endorsed and passed along to Council to approve later in this meeting.

It was 7:03.  People looked around.  Someone offered that maybe in the future Public Meetings could be set for 7:02.

PUBLIC HEARING
Finally, at 7:05, Council initiated the Public Hearing by motion. It was a zoning issue: a Cherry Street couple had petitioned the Village to vacate an alley on their property. They were on hand to explain that it had not been maintained or even used as a public alley in quite a while, and a proper survey revealed that it quite literally ran through their kitchen, a bathroom and their bedroom. Neighbors had been notified as required, none were present. The entire alley will pass to the petitioners, since they had purchased a narrow strip from their neighbor on the other side. Vacating an alley requires an act of Council, and this was passed unanimously in its first reading.

OPEN FLOOR TO THE PUBLIC

Several other people were seated in the public gallery, and Mayor Rich Johnson's preference is to give them a chance to speak at the top of the meeting so their business is dealt with and they're free to duck out.