Joe Drennan
Staff WriterEvan Whitby asked to be on the agenda for Wednesdayís Columbus Township Town Board meeting because he wanted to address the board on the issue of a petition opposing the North Metro Harness Initiativeís proposed harness racing track/card room and what the board was going to do with it.
Whitby submitted a letter asking if the public could vote on the issue of the harness racing track/card room if enough people petitioned for it.
ìWe have to treat this applicant like any other applicant,î town lawyer Bill Griffith said. ìThere is no code calling for a vote in a case like this and to do so would be turning over the decision making to the citizens, not the town board, and that would be unlawful.î
Whitby understood the legal matters on why the township could not allow for the citizens to vote on the issue, but he said that in getting nearly 600 people to sign the petition opposing the racetrack/card room it became clear that many people were not clear on important issues involved in the project.
The issue many people seem to be unclear about is the fact that the card room would operate 24 hours a day, year round, not just during the 50 days of racing.
ìWeíre proposing the board draft a letter to send out to the residents with the correct information about the racetrack/card room,î Whitby said.
As Whitby tried to give his reasons for why he believes the township needs to better inform its citizens about the racetrack/card room, Town Board Chairman Mel Mettler cut Whitby off saying that Whitby knows that the township canít do any more than it already is and ended the conversation.
Other issues
Doug Hedberg asked the township to remove two signs on 140th and 144th streets off Furman St. that read, ì No horses on blacktop.î
ìA lot of homeowners get irate if you ride in the ditch,î Hedberg said. ìIn some places riding in the ditch isnít an option either because the ditch drops off.î
The board members werenít too sure as to why the signs were put up other than to protect the blacktop.
ìWhen I see horses they are on dirt or gravel roads, and most of the time they are in the ditch, but if there isnít much of a ditch to ride I guess we have to come up with a solution,î Mettler said.
Town Engineer Larry Bohrer said that horses wonít do any damage to the blacktop other than possible aesthetic damage on hot days, but suggest the signs be placed on newly paved streets for a year after the paving to give the blacktop time to settle.
The board decided to take the signs down, but put the signs up on newly paved roads for one year and leave it up to the discretion of the maintenance department to decide if they need to stay up longer.
In the organizational meeting, Mettler was renamed town chairman, and Supervisor Renae Fry vice chairman
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