Worthing citizens spoke up at the June 20 Worthing city commission meeting about holes, code enforcement and streets.
John Ganschow talked about his concern about the hole behind his house when they were finding the sewage line. When they dug it up, they did not put the dirt back. Ganschow is concerned that the hole is a danger to his children and children in the neighborhood. He asked that the hole be taken care of immediately.
Mayor Eric Saugstad said he was under the impression that it was going to be filled in when the responsible party fills in an area to the east of Ganschow.
Ganschow also asked if the city would help pay for fill dirt to level out his front yard that was dug up when they were looking for the backflow valve, which was never located there. Saugstad asked him to gather prices for dirt.
Ernest Stratmeyer of WE-CARE, the anti-wind farm group, spoke to the commission about their concerns of a possible wind farm in southern Lincoln County. He and others from his group handed out brochures and talked about why they did not want a wind farm in the county.
Beverly Wuertz wanted to know why snow never gets removed on her street, West 4th Street. Saugstad said the city has been told that West 4th Street is not a street but an access easement. Wuertz said she has paperwork that says it is a street. Saugstad asked her to bring that down to city hall.
Dwight Johnson asked questions about city ordinances and code enforcement in regards to parked cars that do not run and pets. Saugstad said pets are not allowed to run free through town and need to be leashed or kenneled. As far as cars, residents can have 1.5 cars per number of licensed drivers in the home on the property. Johnson does not want to cause trouble with his neighbors but still has concerns about these issues. Saugstad said the city is working on enforcing code more often.
The city held a hearing on rezoning of lots 7, 8 and 9 in Wuertz Addition that the Worthing Economic Development Corporation owns from residential to general business. The planning and zoning commission recommended not approving the rezone due to complaints from neighbors.
Two of those neighbors were at the city commission meeting - Wuertz and Phil Greenwood. Both spoke against the rezone because the proposed business that is interested in the property is storage units. Neither feels that is the right thing for that area of town. Increased traffic and potentially unsightly buildings were the main drawbacks for Wuertz and Greenwood.
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