Firth board to publish shorter right-of-way work statement in April

The Firth village board agreed to send a simplified right-of-way ("rightway") work statement to members and publish it in April, saying the shorter summary would be clearer for residents than a longer draft.

The board discussed two drafts and favored the shorter version because it is easier to read and explains expectations for property owners who plan work in village right-of-way areas. The board noted the statement summarizes existing village ordinances and state law rather than creating new rules. A participant who had consulted legal counsel said the summary “should certainly be adopted in some way or another, but isn't suitable to be an ordinance because it's only a summary of what's already in the ordinances or state law.”

Board members asked for the short statement to be circulated to members for review before publishing and discussed timing for distributing it with utility bills and the village website. One member said posting the summary closer to spring would make it more useful to residents planning seasonal projects. The board asked staff to publish the short version and said they would review any technical edits before it goes public.

The board did not take a formal legislative vote on the text during the meeting; members described the step as an administrative adoption and indicated they would bring any formal adoption language back if needed.