Delivery truck headache: A heated discussion fired up council members Oct. 27 after village manager Paul Zelenak proposed a traffic control order to restrict parking times in front of Mabelena’s Quilt Shop on Mill Street.
After repairing the catch basin in front of Mabelena’s for at least the third time in three years, Zelenak said, the DPW installed a ramp in front of the building so that trucks delivering goods to Hamilton’s Feed Store would not break down the sidewalk and catch basin.
In addition to the ramp improvement Zelenak had parking spaces added, after Mill Street was resurfaced, to help alleviate the parking congestion in the downtown area. However the parking prohibits delivery trucks from backing into Hamilton’s loading dock, so Zelenak wanted parking times limited to free up the maneuvering space.
Brenda Heffernan, owner of Mabelena’s, sent a letter to council requesting they prohibit the trucks from using the ramp as turning space, since trucks endanger her customers by coming too close to her building. Heffernan suggested Hamilton’s widen their loading ramp drive or have their delivery trucks park on the street or down the street and hand truck shipments to the store.
Zelenak said the trucks parking on the street pose a safety problem both for oncoming traffic as well as children who get on the school bus in the area.
Among suggestions to restrict parking: restricting truck turn-around, installing bolyard posts, and moving the catch basin, which would involve tearing out portions of newly paved Mill Street, the council motioned to table a decision on the traffic order of limiting parking hours in front of Mabelena’s.
In an effort to resolve both the safety and inconvenience issues, council agreed that Zelenak will arrange for a traffic study to be done by the village-contracted Traffic Investigation Association, for suggestions on how to solve the problem.

Dump truck improvement: Council approved DPW dump truck repairs in the amount of $11,845. Although DPW Supervisor Shane Eliassen said repairs will most likely not be done in time for the first snowfall, they include fixing the five-yard dump box which periodically locks in the up position when the box is full.
In addition the truck has extensive rust damage, needs a new harness, a new tailgate, and has faulty lighting, to name a few repairs.
Although the bill extends the repair budget amount for the remaining year, purchasing a new truck is out of the budget question and Eliassen said he would rather not take on others? problems.
‘We already know what we have and if we buy another used one we’re buying someone else’s headache,? Eliassen said.

DPW has communication: The council approved a contract with Nextel for a radio/phone system for the DPW department. Each DPW employee will receive a phone, plus the village manager. The contract will cost the village $35.99 per month, per phone.