‘Ray Brown’ Memorial Park OK’d in Alger

By ALEC KELLER

Times staff writer

ALGER — The third and final reading for the ordinance renaming “Alger Park” to the “Ray Brown Memorial Park” was completed at Monday night’s council meeting.

Brown was a Negro Leagues Baseball Hall of Fame inductee in 2006, and lived near the village while he went to school in the 1920s.

Through joint efforts of various groups of people, a $40,000 grant was obtained. One of the things it was used for was a historical marker which has arrived at the village office.

A large group of residents attended a special meeting in April to offer their concerns or comments on the name change. At the end of that meeting, it was agreed upon to create an ordinance and go through the three readings.

Following the reading, village administrator Paul Osborne told council that most of the park bids are in, and the first thing to be done is the outfield fence. Next is drainage for the whole park, as well as the diamond in the ball field. Osborne added that the two parts of the project are covered financially.

“That’s in the works, it’s going to be starting here in a few days,” Osborne said.

Throughout the rest of the meeting, council re-visited various ordinances regarding trees, building permits, and water bill payments.

One of the topics of discussion involved a resident leaving trash that sits for over a week after trash is hauled away. The person who came to Osborne in private said that it blows everywhere and that it is an “eyesore.” Osborne was sent a photo with a trash receptacle with trash in it, but also surrounding it.

Mayor Von Summa said that trash should be put out the day before or the day when it gets picked up. Trash pick-up does not occur on weekends.

Council pondered the possibility of adding a penalty or a fine to the ordinance for those who have trash sitting out on their property for longer than the intended time of 24 hours. Councilman Craig Decker asked how would they determine that, to which village solicitor Aaron Bensinger replied that if someone is concerned, they should take a picture to prove it was there, then if it is still there, that is how the village can know.

Council approved a motion to have an ordinance drafted that doesn’t enforce people on when to put their trash out, but for it to not exceed 24 hours of sitting on one’s property or be faced with a fine.

“I don’t think there is any reason for trash to sit out for more than twenty-four hours,” Councilman Mike Miller said.

In other action, council:

– Approved a $3,500 office expansion for water clerk, Cruz Compton, with a reception window at the village office.

– Heard from Compton that the new water bill system has 55 users out of the goal of 60 people. A portal was opened on May 20. Payments that were taken were via credit cards and checks over the phone. New features will be out soon including mass late payment notices, boil advisories, custom messages, and reminders.

– Agreed to remove three trees on N. McConnell St.

– Approved to draft an ordinance on the water charges for the churches, fire department, and library. All three will be charged capital improvement and enterprise with an amount that varies by rate. Council decided not to put any price or amount on the ordinance.