A mini pig, parking, a bullying policy and installation of a street were among items debated at Tuesday's meeting of the Wayne City Council.
Although there were only nine items on the council agenda, lengthy discussion of four of the items resulted in a two hour meeting.
Council members gave approval of the request of Kim and Jerry Hamik to have a mini pig inside city limits.
The Hamiks explained to the council that the pig, which was in attendance at the meeting, was very quiet and all their neighbors are aware of the fact that they have the pig.
Wayne Veterinarian Dr. Mark Zink, DVS, spoke to the council on possible diseases pigs are susceptible to and recommended that if the council approve the request to have the mini pig within city limits, they require its owners to have it vaccinated against rabies and other diseases.
"Because we don't always know the origins of these animals and there are no cut and dried guidelines on vaccinations for them, this is different than other household pets. The pigs are subject to many of the same diseases as other household pets and some of these diseases can be transmitted through urine," Dr. Zink said.
The approval does come with the stipulation that the pig be vaccinated.
Parking in the city of Wayne was again debated by the council at length at Tuesday's meeting.
A request was made by Hilda Pearson to eliminate the midnight to 5 p.m. parking restrictions on the west side of Logan Street between Eighth and Ninth Streets.
"The residents of my street would like to enjoy the same privileges as those on Oak Drive enjoy. This is a college town and we need to make space for those college students who have friends come visit. The college students need somewhere to park," Pearson told the council.
Council member Matt Eischied asked if the issue was more of a landlord issue with not enough parking spaces provided.
"By allowing 24 hour parking, more noise and more issues would be created in this one block. Would it be better to change the time from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m.?" Eischied asked.
Mayor Ken Chamberlain that the city has found that many WSC students choose to park on the streets rather than on campus and changing the status of this street would result in even less parking on the street.
"We have discussed this issue before and granting this request would create a flood of requests from other areas within the city. Maybe this needs to be a ballot issue and let the voters decide. Approximately 16 years ago it was on the ballot and it was defeated," Chamberlain said.
City Planner Joel Hansen told the council that the street in question is brick and was built in 1921 and is quite narrow.
Following the discussion, a motion was made to table the issue until it could be studied further. This vote failed on a 4-3 vote with council members Matt Eischied, Jill Brodersen, Rod Greve and Jon Haase voting against tabling and council members Jason Karsky, Nick Muir and Cale Giese voting to table.
No action was taken on a resolution to establish a bullying policy for the Community Activity Center.
Discussion was held on the consensus of those observed bullying and the fact that the policy would be put in place to address those under the age of 18 years.
Council members were told that at the present time there is no policy in place and the proposed regulations would be similar to the code of conduct listed in the student handbook at Wayne Community Schools.
Council members debated the wording of the resolution and talked about enforcement.
"Without this policy, how are we going to protect those at the Community Activity Center? This policy is not out of the ordinary," said Council member Jason Karsky.
Following discussion, council members voted to table the item until more details can be worked out in the resolution.
Another discussion item that took up a considerable amount of time during the meeting was that of creating a street from the south end of the Community Activity Center parking lot, around the new Aquatic Center and connecting with East Fifth Street.
Estimates for the cost of the concrete for the project are $13,000 with additional funds needed for installation.
Council members debated the need for the street, whether it should be a one-way or two-way street and options other than paving.
The city acquired the land in a trade with Wayne Community Schools prior to the building of the Aquatic Center and the additional exit out of the area would reduce congestion on days when activities are taking place at the Community Activity Center.
Council members also briefly discussed the possibility of changing one City Council seat in each ward within the city to an 'at large' position. More information is needed before a decision is made on the topic.
The council will next meet in regular session on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 5:30 p.m. in council chambers.
