Roadside memorials to have 90-day limit

SAN JUAN COUNTY PUBLIC WORKS

Guest column by county Councilmember Rich Peterson

Roadside memorials limited to 90 days

By Sharon Kivisto

posted 03/27/2007
San Juan County Council agreed unanimously to limit roadside memorials to a 90-day period from the date of the accident. The ordinance will be in effect 10 days after it is published in the weekly newspaper which won't happen until sometime after the April 10 county Council meeting. Gene Knapp, Bob Myhr, Howie Rosenfeld, Rich Peterson were in favor of the ordinance. Councilmembers Alan Lichter and Kevin Ranker were at conferences and were not at the meeting.

A public hearing was held at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 27. Bob Querry said he was not in favor of roadside memorials. "I was almost killed by a drunk driver. The memorials remind me of the whole thing."

Claudia Mills said if the county can stop roadside memorials they should be able to do something about real estate signs which are in the public right of way.

Jack Cory said growing up in the mid-west he noticed the small white crosses which marked the places where people had died on the highways. "They made an impression," he said. Querry, Mills and Cory were the only members of the general public who attended the public hearing.

Sheriff Bill Cumming said, "I don't necessarily support long term memorials beside the road but they do serve to remind people what actually happened." He thought a "scaled down model for a longer term" might be a solution. He knew many parents use the memorials "as a point of discussion with their children."

The public hearing was the only chance for the community members to speak up about the ordinance. The council made its decision following the public hearing. Because of a wording change - making the 90-day period start at the time of the accident - the actual adoption of the ordinance will take place as part of the consent agenda on April 10.

The council's staff will then send the ordinance to the weekly paper for publication. Once it is publicized the ordinance will go into effect 10 days later.