Mayor Swears in Half of Next Year's Council

Glasgow Mayor Becky Erickson kicked off the Dec. 17 city council meeting by swearing in one new and two returning members of the Glasgow City Council. Swearing in were returning councilmen Butch Heitman, representing Ward 2, and Rod Karst, who represents Ward 3. Newly elected to the council is Todd Young who will represent Ward 1 as of Jan. 1.

Young is replacing Nanci Schoenfelder who represented Ward 1 for five years – two as an appointee and three as an elected member of the council, according to the mayor’s comments. Schoenfelder was also recognized by the mayor and presented with a gift for her years of service to the city council and Ward 1.

Also on the agenda Monday night was the first reading of an ordinance to modernize the downtown parking laws. The new Ordinance 964 will bring an original parking ordinance up to date with current downtown parking signs that limit both two hour parking on First and Second Avenues and 12 hour parking along Front Street in front of the BNSF depot.

The Mayor said the city was looking to move parking availability downtown in an effort to help businesses increase their accessibility and ease of parking in the district. Specifically one of the areas the city is focused on improving is the parking availability along the rail depot. In a letter to Dan Bilbruck from Mayor Erickson the city highlighted the reasoning for their increased enforcement efforts and pointed out areas where BNSF has the exclusive rights to park which is off of city streets and property.

The mayor wanted to make clear that the city was not targeting BNSF employees or the company, but was hoping to improve the parking situation in the area for the benefit of all Glasgow businesses.

“The City of Glasgow appreciates all local businesses,” she wrote in the letter, “and we will continue to represent our community as a whole as we strive to promote ‘more of what matters' in Glasgow.”

Also discussed was the city’s shift in an ordinance on shipping containers. Originally passed in the early fall, the council had sought to outright ban any shipping containers being placed on property within the city limits. After reviewing the current placement of containers and hearing feedback from the council and the public, the city has decided to grandfather in containers that had been placed before Nov. 1, 2019, as long as the owners meet certain aesthetic and permitting requirements at the city office. All new containers going forward will be banned outright.

As part of the shipping container issue, the city also approved the placement of a shipping container for storage by Irle School on city property in Bundy Park. The container had been the catalyst for the debate on amending the container ordinance and allowing for a grandfather clause on containers placed before Nov. 1.

The next City Council meeting will be 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 6 in the Council Chambers at the Civic Center.