Riverside to survey town on splashpad

RIVERSIDE ? The Riverside Council devised a method for determining the extent of support in the town for the proposed splashpad. The council voted 4-1 Monday to instruct its employee committee to create a survey to distribute to the town?s residents, asking them if they want a splashpad and if so where they want it. Councilors Kevin Kiene, Christine Kirkwood, Nate Kasdorf and Bob Schneider voted in favor of the motion while councilor Ralph Schnoebelen cast the lone dissenting vote.

The employee committee consists of Kiene and Kirkwood. The motion calls for four Riverside residents to assist the employee committee in crafting the survey. Two of the residents are to be supporters of the splashpad while the other two residents are to have ?opposing views? to the two supporters.

Kiene made a motion to mail the surveys to every registered voter in Riverside. Mayor Bill Poch recommended that the committee include four residents. Kiene agreed to amend his motion to include the four residents on the committee, but he also remarked, ?This is way more complicated than it needs to be.?

Kirkwood said she would like the surveys to be put on a postcard. Mayor Bill Poch and Schneider said they would rather canvass the town?s residents by conducting the survey door-to-door.

Riverside resident Jeff Showalter addressed the council and said the council was wasting too much time debating the survey, which he said should be very simple to create since it would only include two questions.

?You guys get paid to sit up there,? he said. ?I want my money back.?

Showalter had earlier addressed the council about a different subject. He said that an unknown person left a voice message on his phone which said, ?Stay out of city business? and then hung up. Washington County Sheriff Jerry Dunbar was in the audience and said that the message Showalter received could constitute harassment. Showalter said he and his brother were going to place a bid on the panic buttons the council plans to install in city hall, although Showalter said he was hesitant to do so after receiving that phone call.

The council reviewed bids for the security system although it decided to request more information from the bidders and to get a bid from Showalter. City Clerk Missy Carter said she has already taken steps to expedite the dialing of 911 by programming the phones in city hall to dial the number by simply pressing one button. Once the button is pressed, the phone is automatically put on speaker phone.

Schneider said he was uncomfortable talking about the particulars of the city?s security system in a public meeting since this would disclose sensitive information.

Riverside resident Diane Poch addressed the council and recommended against purchasing a security system. She said the city has access to the same service by simply dialing 911.

The council agreed to form a committee to look into the city hall?s security and report back to the council in 30 days.