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Public urges patrols after school dismissal near Kiwi plant; commissioners say they will coordinate
Summary
Residents told the commission they see dangerous traffic during school dismissal near a road used by Kiwi plant shifts and urged periodic patrols; county officials said they will attempt to schedule deputies and coordinate with the plant to ease congestion.
Several residents raised public-safety concerns during public comment about afternoon dismissal traffic at a local high school and heavy semi-truck traffic linked to the Kiwi plant. Commenters said students and parents crossing the road face unsafe conditions and urged the county to schedule periodic patrols to control traffic during the 2:45 p.m. dismissal window.
A resident described multiple near-miss situations as semis and commuter traffic share a narrow road used by school drop-off and by plant shifts. The resident said about 95 vehicles queued on some days during peak times and urged a deputy presence for 30 minutes during dismissal to reduce risk.
Commission and staff responses: officials said they have raised the issue with the plant and are exploring options to have plant traffic use a back route to ease the roadway burden. County staff and law enforcement acknowledged limited options without plant cooperation but said they would attempt to schedule periodic patrols and continue discussions with the company about traffic routing. The commission thanked emergency services and outside agencies for recent mutual‑aid responses mentioned earlier in the meeting.
This was a public-comment request; commissioners did not take immediate ordinance or budget action at the meeting but asked county staff and the sheriff’s office to follow up with patrol scheduling, coordination with the plant, and consideration of traffic‑control measures for the dismissal period.
