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Resident tells Falls City council of repeated nighttime disturbances, parking and safety concerns; police and staff outline options
Summary
Resident Ron Kelly described ongoing nighttime vehicle disturbances, harassment, and other neighborhood problems near school parking lots; police and staff discussed camera review, traffic stops, code enforcement, fire-pit rules and authorized vehicle-light colors and urged filing formal complaints and school-administration contact.
Resident Ron Kelly addressed the council during public comment, reporting repeated nighttime disturbances he said originate near local school parking lots: loud tire screeching, revving, air horns and profanity that sometimes occur as late as 2:30 a.m. He told the council the behavior has been ongoing and that neighbors are reluctant to come forward for fear of retaliation.
Kelly said he reported incidents to the city administrator and asked that enforcement act; he also suggested school parking-lot cameras could provide evidence and that the high school administration be contacted. "I'm having a lot of trouble with high school, and my wife is kinda bedridden, so we wake her up at all times of the night," Kelly said.
Chief Baker and other staff responded in the public forum. Staff noted police patrols and reported 26 traffic stops in a recent month on a five-block stretch from Fourteenth to Nineteenth streets, indicating enforcement presence. Staff advised residents with specific times or license-plate numbers to submit those details so officers can review camera footage or pursue complaints; staff said filing a formal complaint is the next step if a resident chooses to do so.
On related concerns, Kelly raised fire pits and a pickup with red-and-blue undercarriage lights. Chief Baker explained there are statutes governing authorized emergency-light colors and that red/blue combinations are reserved for certain emergency vehicles; he said other colors (green, amber, yellow, orange) may be authorized for different vehicle types per statute and that residents should call the department for questions about installing lights. Staff also said code enforcement recently visited properties Kelly mentioned to inspect vehicle tags and yard conditions.
Councilmembers encouraged Kelly to contact school administrators about after-hours parking and noted the police are placing enforcement resources in school zones during school hours; one councilmember suggested deploying digital speed signs to gather analytics on speeds and times as a non-enforcement tool. Council members and staff said they would continue follow-up with the resident and local officers to address the neighborhood concerns, with advice to provide specific incident details to aid enforcement.
