Pikeville sets its sites on tall grass
By Turner Walston
Published in News on October 4, 2005 1:46 PM
Pikeville town commissioners unanimously approved the new grass ordinance Monday night. Effective immediately, land owners whose lawns are not in compliance will be charged a fee of $50 to cut the grass, and a $100 civil penalty.
In September, commissioners rejected a change in the ordinance and added the civil penalty. After months of dialogue between citizens and commissioners, the board voted Monday night with no discussion. Commissioner Johnny Weaver read a note from an unidentified citizen, defining a weed as "a plant out of place," but no residents spoke at the public hearing on the ordinance.
Mayor Herb Sieger proposed an informal meeting Thursday to discuss the beer and wine referendum with the town's residents. On the November ballot, the referendum concerns the sale of beer and wine on an "off-premises consumption" basis.
"We should have one or two open meetings whereby this can be discussed freely," Sieger said.
Commissioners also voted to extend the once-weekly garbage pickup through November. Currently, garbage in Pikeville is picked up on Mondays only. In September, the board scaled back from pickup on both Monday and Thursday to help offset the rising cost of fuel.
"With the increased cost of fuel, we feel we are justified in doing that," administrator Lonnie Graves said.
Weaver recommended adopting the once-weekly pickup until the board's December meeting, when it would be re-evaluated, and asked for citizen input on the matter.
In other business, the board officially named the park on the old Pikeville High School grounds with a unanimous vote. "The Pikeville Park," as it is called, includes Dees Memorial Park, which was donated to the town by the Minnie Dees family in 1986.
Commissioners also authorized Graves to hire a part-time administrative assistant after asking the town manager to justify the expense at the last meeting.
Graves told the board that either he or town clerk Kathie Fields are out of the town hall up to 25 percent of the time, with vacation, sick time, or matters that take them out of the office.
"That justification makes sense," said Weaver, who opposed the hiring in September.