Councilman Matt Bell introduced changes to two city ordinances at Monday’s city council meeting.
The first is a change to the campfire ordinance, the second, changes the Use and Occupancy Inspection.
The fire change would no longer require Hillsdale citizens to obtain a permit to burn a campfire on their property. Currently, Hillsdale residents need only fill out a permit once a year. When they fill out the permit, they are asked to call the Fire Department each time they have a fire. Police and Fire Chief Scott Hephner said that these measures allow the department to monitor calls regarding open flames that warrant action.
“If there is a burn permit, dispatch doesn’t bring out the Fire Department,” Hephner said. “It’s kind of a trade off of whether you want the government telling you what to do or the government shows up at your campfire. If we get the phone calls, nobody shows up.”
According to Bell, the proposed change leaves the city code intact. The addition would allow campfires to burn without a permit while still requiring a permit for a bonfire, a fire bigger than 4 feet in diameter.
Councilman Bruce Sharp said that he wasn’t against the change but wanted to make sure that there were provisions in place to ensure that the Fire Department is not sent on call constantly.
The change to the Use and Occupancy Inspection would allow for a homeowner to submit their own professionally-done inspection to the city without having a city official come to the home.
“The city’s been good about it,” Bell said. “But, it’s in our laws that they couldn’t be. If you get someone else who really wants to be a stickler, all of a sudden you’ve got somebody saying you’ve put all this money in this house but you can’t go live in it unless you get this exact thing taken care of.”
As both changes are to ordinances, the proposed revision must be published and a public hearing set before any of the changes can be adopted.
The council also voted to rename Sandy Beach at Baw Beese Lake to Rotary Park at Sandy Beach.
City staff proposed the name change to recognize the Hillsdale Rotary Club for their 100 years of service to the community, which they celebrated at the beginning of the month.
“I think we’ve worked very well with the Rotary Club,” City Manager David Mackie said. “We’ve accomplished a lot for the community and for the county. I think all of the staff feel strongly that this is something that rotary directors should be recognized for.”
Rotary member Rob Socha said the club was grateful for the recognition.
“We are honored that the City Council would name the part after the rotary and recognize our efforts,” he said.