Council discusses whether alcohol should be allowed in public locations
In a special meeting Tuesday, the Hillsboro City Council decided to table their decision about whether or not to pass an ordinance that would exempt certain city property from state restrictions dealing with the consumption of alcohol on public properties.
According to city administrator Steve Garrett, the issue about whether or not to allow alcoholic beverages on public property became a question after alcohol was allowed at a men's softball tournament located at the Hillsboro Sports Complex.
"There comes this point in time," Garrett said. "The thing is, that this tournament supplies a boat-load of money to our (recreation) program. It is a reality that the guys who play in a tournament like this enjoy having alcohol during and after the event. We're in an area I'm a little bit uncomfortable with."
Council member Matt Hiebert said he would be in favor of allowing such an ordinance, but said he would like to see the council pass an ordinance which would restrict the areas in which alcohol consumption would be allowed.
"I know there's a lot of people out there who would like to be able to have alcohol in some place other than the Legion," Hiebert said. "We're forcing people to go out of town to spend there money."
Council member Leonard Coryea asked the council if the exemption would open the door to alcohol consumption at events, such as the Marion County Fair, or venues like the Scout House.
City attorney Dan Baldwin said the city does not own the buildings at the fair grounds, but by allowing the ordinance, organization like the Marion County Fair would have the opportunity to decide whether or not to allow the consumption of alcohol at its event.
The council decided to table the issue until a further date and suggested that Baldwin research the issue further and then present the ordinance idea at a future meeting.
In other business, the council accepted the recommendation made by Garrett to accept the current health insurance despite the drastic rate increase.
The rate is a 20 percent increase over the city's current rates, and raises the deductibles and co-insurance pay from $500 to $1000 and from $2,500 to $5,000 respectively.
Based on the city's current policy, the city pays 100 percent of the single premium.
"If we want to continue to provide that benefit we'll have to do something major in the next year," Garrett said. "One more year like this, and I'll be thinking about paying people not to get sick. (The rising rates) are getting ridiculous."
The city also accepted the recommendation from Community Development Block Grant Housing Administrator Rose Mary Saunders to accept Tom Chavey as the administrator, for the upcoming housing project pending grant dollars. The project will entail building 16 new houses and demolishing five existing homes.
The council also passed ordinances 1074, 1075, and 1076.
Garrett said he has spoken to Stan Harder about the Historical Society and the two plan to construct a game plan about doing something with historical properties in Hillsboro as a way to increase Hillsboro's marketability.
The city will hold a planning commission meeting next Thursday at 7 p.m.
