By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette
During the Sept. 23 Panora City Council meeting, the councilmembers discussed two new streetlights that were installed at the intersection of Highway 4 and Highway 44 (the “Casey’s corner”).
Panora’s Electric Superintendent, Doug Long, explained his recommendation to install new LED streetlights similar to those two. He said the new lights would meet the specifications for lighting on state highways. Councilmembers said they had not heard any complaints or concerns about the new lights. Mayor Curt Thornberry noted that the proposed new lights are much less “power hungry” than the proposed LED lights and asked Long how soon the lights could be installed.
“I’m thinking it would take about a week, once we get them,” Long said.
The council unanimously approved the plan to purchase and install new LED lights.
During the Public Forum portion of the meeting, citizen Lana Laabs (216 E. Church St.) addressed the council with a request to be allowed to temporarily stay in her camper while her home is completed.
“I was a Jamaica person; I’m going to be a Panora person in a few weeks. I had called the City to see if I could live in my camper for a few weeks this fall, and they said no,” Laabs said.
Laabs asked for more explanation and was told that for many years, the ordinance prohibited anyone staying in a recreational vehicle, such as a camper, on a private residential property. Laabs asked if anything could be done to allow her to stay in the camper. Mayor Curt Thornberry explained this would require an ordinance change, which could not be accomplished in time to meet Laabs’ request.
The council discussed Resolution 24-33 to approve a “hybrid entity policy” regarding the city’s EMS staff. John DeLavergne explained that the policy is simply a way to designate that only certain city staff (those directly involved with EMS services) would need to receive “HIPAA” training. The council approved the resolution as proposed. The council also designated DeLavergne as the HIPAA Privacy Officer for Panora EMS.
City Administrator Lisa Grossman updated the council on the issue raised by Marshall and Linda Burgess regarding the “rusty” tap water they’ve been experiencing at their home. Grossman said the City is continuing to perform iron tests at nearby homes to determine the location and cause of the problem.
Grossman informed the council about an upcoming Panorama Homecoming event.
“The school reached out… They’re going to be doing a Homecoming pep rally at the square on Friday at 2 p.m. They’re going to be doing a parade of kids down Market Street. They want to get the community more involved in the Homecoming events,” Grossman said.
The next regular meeting of the Panora council is set for Monday, Oct. 14 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall. The public is welcome. Interested persons may attend in person or electronically by visiting the website https://meet.goto.com/cityofpanora or by phone 1-312-757-3121 (Access Code 295-099-701, Audio PIN 220#).