Village of Oreana issued the following announcement on Aug.
At last nights board meeting, the Village Board acted on two requests from Small Town Living for the upcoming Halloween Festival. The use of the park was approved, the use of the streets for a parade was approved, and a $1500 sponsorship was approved.
However, there was one part of the request was not approved. The request to close roads, or portions of roads (S. View and Park Ct) was not approved. I recommended that this part of the request not be approved because it is my position that the events could be contained within the park, and we could allow the streets to be open and used for parking. After a discussion, the board made the decision to approve everything except the road closures.
Last nights actions were specific to this event. The board did not invoke any policy change on other events or prohibit other necessary future road closures.
My approach to road closures is that they should be reserved for situations that involve keeping residents and attendees safe. We should only close roads if absolutely necessary, and only for as long as we absolutely have to. I believe closing roads for parades, trick or treating on View Circle, the 5K events, and others is appropriate when done correctly and for short periods of time. It is not my intention to stop all future road closures.
If myself and the board got last nights decision wrong, and representatives of Small Town Living do not believe they can hold their event safely without closing the roads near the park, then the board will take up the issue again, and act as the board feels appropriate. We have always been able to find common ground in the past, and I am confident that we can do so again.
Original source can be found here.
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