Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Works Alleys topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Rules committee recommends most alleys be kept unimproved; recommends vacating one alley and improving several others
Summary
The rules committee presented a map of recommendations for village alleys: most should be kept and maintained in current (unimproved) condition, one alley is recommended for vacation, and a small number should be improved. The village bought machinery to repair alleys and staff expect to begin addressing potholes and select paving soon.
The village rules committee presented a first-round recommendation on the future of alleys across the village: categorize alleys as "keep and improve," "vacate," or "keep and unimproved." The committee recommended that most alleys remain in service but unimproved (maintained in current condition), recommended vacating one specific alley between North Company and North Liberty (with a missed adjacent alley highlighted for re-review), and recommended improvements to certain problem alleys on North Bozzell Street and a north–south alley on Maple.
The committee explained the three categories: "keep and improve" would involve active upgrades such as rock or asphalt and routine maintenance; "keep unimproved" means the village retains ownership and performs basic maintenance (pothole grading/patching) but does not plan paving; "vacate" would remove the alley from public ownership and return half to adjacent parcels through county recording.
Staff said the village purchased a machine intended to make systematic alley repairs and that the street maintenance supervisor, Tim, planned to begin working on alleys as early as the end of the week and expected to complete about one alley per day. Committee members flagged examples where heavy truck use (garbage trucks) had caused damage and cited one location where Rumpke (the trash contractor) or other large vehicles had created a two-foot ditch that requires repair.
Committee members explained the process for vacating an alley: the council would adopt an ordinance to vacate the alley, and that ordinance is then sent to the county auditor and recorder; the county would split the vacated alley into halves and assign them to adjacent parcels. Committee members warned that vacating an alley can create access disputes between neighbors and said the map is not final — the committee plans to revisit any missed or contested alleys.
The committee voted to continue the review process and to move forward with maintenance using the new machine; committee leaders asked the council to allow ongoing review and to approve any future vacate ordinances on a case-by-case basis.
