Chillicothe Council Has New Member, Reconsiders Street Closures

An empty seat on Chillicothe Council has been filled. Council now has a replacement for Democrat Tara Gillum, who resigned in March, saying her business was expanding and taking more of her time.

Nina Park said she was sworn in Friday. She sat in her first council session Monday night.

She said she had been to a few council sessions, but the main issue that drew her into the possibility of public service was the Tiffin School property.

That vacated South Bridge Street elementary school site was bought by Goodwill, who was considering redeveloping it - but the neighborhood around it pushed back, saying that would split them up.

She said she doesn't chair a committee yet, since she's such a "super junior" council member.

The increasing number of street closure requests is starting to bog down Chillicothe Council. With six such requests as resolutions in council's Monday session, Mayor Luke Feeney addressed the issue.

He and council members pointed out that street closures used to be handled mostly internally. But with their increasing popularity, and the lack of guidance from the city's laws, Feeney is requesting committee discussion.

Last week there were two street closures, and this week is another.

Feeney said there are multiple impacts. The downtown has more business activity, and it costs city staff to process the requests. As legislation, it also means more work for the Law Director to draft them.

He wants the process streamlined so most requests don't need to move through council as legislation. But, it would be ideal that large closures like the Halloween Parade and Feast of the Flowering Moon still went before council.

The fees for closures are also antiquated - it costs only $20 to request closing a street and $2 for an alley. These are the fees for construction closures, like gas line work, but Feeney says they are used for events since the city's laws don't state fees for them.

Reserving parking for food trucks is another issue Feeney wants considered.

Kevin Coleman covers local government and culture