City Council approves inter local agreement

LAUREL – The city of Laurel and Cedar County have come to an agreement regarding the community’s outdoor warning sirens.

Laurel City Council members approved a resolution on May 8 on an interlocal agreement that formalizes and fulfills a legal requirement for outdoor warning siren activation.

Kevin Garvin, the county’s director of emergency management and 911 communications coordinator, previously has noted the county does not own all of the outdoor warning sirens within its borders.

“We want a written agreement with each siren owner – usually a fire department or city or village – that gives the county the authority to activate the outdoor warning sirens within the county that are not owned by the county using a common criteria,” Garvin said.

“Each fire department has had the county dispatch center activating the sirens for many years; this agreement just puts it all in writing,” he said. “It is considered a best practice to have it in writing for legal purposes.”

In other business, the council approved: - A $15,000 increase in Hillcrest Care Center’s line of credit.

- A special designated liquor license for the VFW during Laurel Ag Days’ street dance from 8 p.m. June 16 to 1 a.m. June 17.

Council members also approved the following building permits: - Kenneth Strivens, 506 W. Third St., 60-by-20-foot driveway.

- Robert Heckman, 108 Alma St., 45-by-30foot privacy fence.

- Nick Kvols, 702 Oak St., 2,000-squarefoot replacement garage and 160-by-30-foot driveway.

- Jeff Erwin, 706 Alma St., 37-foot-long by 3-foot-high retaining wall and 40-by-18-foot patio.

- Mike Maines, 703 Elm St., 10-by-12-foot patio with two steps into house.

The Laurel City Council’s next meeting is set for June 12 at 6 p.m. at the Laurel City office.