Mt. Pleasant street panel nixes designated parking for Subway

MT. PLEASANT - The Mt. Pleasant Street Committee received updates on projects and discussed street-related requests from businesses and residents at a meeting on Thursday afternoon.

City administrator Brent Schleisman reported that Subway, a business on the main square, was inquiring whether it could designate a parking spot for its customers. Schleisman read a comment from Police Chief Lyle Murray, who said there would be no way for the department to enforce the parking rule.

'There are 12 active restaurants in our downtown area,” Schleisman said.

Committee member and council member Kent White said granting the parking spot could set a precedent which would require giving other restaurants and businesses in downtown designated parking as well.

'I'm a no … Then where do we stop? Then it's Costas and Breadeaux,” committee member Steven Engberg added.

The committee discussed a request from a resident on South Jefferson Street requesting permission to plant a ground cover on a right of way adjacent to their property.

Rick Mullin, public works director for the city, explained the property sits on a hill that the owners feel is too steep to mow. The owners hope planting a ground cover would reduce on maintenance, Mullin explained.

Schleisman said a city ordinance requires plants not exceed 6 to 8 inches in height and suggested the committee request a landscape plan from the residents that states the property owners understand and acknowledge the stipulations of the city code.

The committee agreed to allow for the ground as long as the owners submit a plan and demonstrate they 'understand the ordinance the way it's written.”

The committee discussed a proposal to reconstruct the Saunders Park parking area. Schleisman said the city's Park Board identified the project as part of its master plan. Reconstructing the area would include removing a sand volleyball court and including a trailhead.

The city administrator said he estimates the project would cost approximately $200,000. The committee gave Schleisman the go-ahead to begin exploring what the project would entail. Schleisman added he would return with more concrete costs and numbers at the committee's next meeting.

In an update on the Lincoln Street project, a project that will revamp the stretch of road running from the Mt. Pleasant Middle School to the Amtrak railroads, City Engineer Jim Warner said that a water main had just been completed and a gas main would begin to be lowered the following week. Warner added he anticipates the project to be completed by Thanksgiving.

West Monroe and East Monroe Street improvement projects are currently in the design phase. Warner said the city may begin soliciting bids early next year.