The Norris Police Department, at least for now, will not be authorized to assist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also known as ICE, in its duties of enforcing federal laws regarding illegal immigration, after the City Council on Monday night declined to consider a resolution that would have allowed such assistance. At the beginning of the council’s June meeting, during the period in which the council approves the agenda as submitted by city staff, Mayor Chris Mitchell made a motion to remove consideration of Resolution 22-2025 from the agenda. That measure, if approved, would “authorize the Mayor and the City Manager, on behalf of the City, to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOU) with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as a participating United States government agency, to provide for operational assistance pertaining to enforcement of laws to combat illegal immigration … ” Mitchell said he felt that such a proposal would need to be presented by the chief of police and discussed in a workshop meeting if the council were to consider it, but he also said that he was not in favor of even holding a workshop on the issue.
Read MoreAs summer heats up, the renovated pool and new splash pad at Cinton’s Jaycee Park are still not ready. Taylor Cullison, the city’s special-event manager, said the original plan was to open the pool in late May. But due to 20 days of rain, the city has “no firm date” on when to open, nor any firm plans for a grand opening event, she said. She also said supply-chain issues slowed the project down as well. The city broke ground in spring 2023 after starting the grant process in 2020. The pool, in Jaycee Park off Nave Street, has been closed since the end of the 2019 season. It did not re-open in 2020 due to a combination of leaks discovered in the 2019 summer and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read MoreClinton residents will have the opportunity to weigh in on proposed zoning changes and the city’s budget during a public hearing on Monday, June 23. The Clinton City Council will hold a public hearing at 5:30 p.m. that day at Clinton City Hall, 100 N. Bowling St. The hearing, which is prior to the council’s regular meeting, will cover a proposed zoning ordinance and the city’s budget for the coming fiscal year. Members of the public are encouraged to attend and speak. Zoning changes The proposed zoning ordinance would allow new uses — including multifamily housing — in areas zoned as “Interstate Business District.” City Planner Preston Stokes said the zoning district is near the interstate, primarily to the north of the city along North Charles G. Seivers Boulevard. If approved, the ordinance would permit multifamily dwellings, such as apartment buildings with five or more contiguous units. However, such developments would require special exception approval from the Clinton Planning Commission and could not face or have primary access to arterial roads like North Charles G. Seivers Boulevard.
Read MoreThe pickup of recycling items will end in Norris on July 1, along with most back-door trash pickup, under a new refuse-collection ordinance approved on second and final reading Monday night by the City Council. The city has entered into a new contract with Waste Connections Inc. that makes those changes, and reduces the refuse-collection fee to $15 a month from the current $16. As the refuse ordinance is written, residential recycling pickup will be discontinued completely, and regular trash pickup will be changed to curbside service only, except in the case of disabled people who qualify for back-door pickup. The council approved the ordinance on first reading, along with a new contract with Waste Connections, during its regular meeting May 12. In its bid to continue its refuse collection service to Norris earlier this year, Waste Collections declined to offer the back-door trash pickup service that Norris residents have enjoyed for years.
Read More