Sterling clarifies cemetery, fire, planning duties of citizen committee members

By Doug Lowe 

Staff writer

2-27-2010

STERLING—During its February meeting, on the Tuesday before last, Mayor Randall Cox and the town board members heard requests from city staffers and volunteers for additional input to guide their efforts in the cemetery, within the fire department, and on the planning commission

When Mayor Randall Cox called on Curt Ludvigson, the town sexton asked for clarification of his responsibilities in regard to the sod he places on top of new graves.

“I water it real well when it goes down, but I cannot be responsible for keep it alive, continuing to water it, and making sure that whoever mows the grass doesn’t kill it by driving across it,” he said. The council response was full agreement.

During his presentation to the council, Nick Lyon, chief of the volunteer fire department, reported that due to the assistant chief moving out of town, the remaining volunteers had discussed the matter and agreed that Levi Conover should be recommend for the role.

“Levi has been one of our most faithful members ever since he turned 18 and joined our crew,” Lyon explained, after which the board unanimously approved Conover’s appointment.

Lyon’s input also helped the town leadership decide to approve installation of another fire hydrant further up a newer street where the closest hydrant was further away than the recommend 250 feet.

The town’s new volunteer in charge of planning and zoning, Zed Wignall, told the group that he recently sat in on a meeting of the county planning and zoning commission and came away with the impression that they did not like buffers zones—though he wasn’t sure why— and were recommending that Sterling do away with theirs.

Wignall’s report raised eyebrows and questions that Mayor Cox indicated would receive more discussion at another time because the town is grappling with the question of what to do, if anything, about development going on just beyond the town’s boundaries.