Public safety building parking problems to get fresh look

New silver cars in a row, close-up

By Bob Balgemann
Reporter
BELVIDERE – A plan to hopefully resolve parking issues at the public safety building (PSB) on Main Street has been shelved in a 5-4 vote of the Belvidere City Council.
However, the overall effort is still alive.
Mayor Mike Chamberlain said the problem will get the attention of a traffic planner through the Rockford Metropolitan Agency for Planning (RMAP). The new-found hope is that a solution acceptable to aldermen and residents will be found.
No date has been set for a proposal to reach the committee of the whole for discussion.
A suggestion that had been reached earlier actually received a positive vote among the nine aldermen who sat as the city council on March 7. However, the 5-4 vote in favor wasn’t quite good enough, what with six votes needed for passage of an ordinance.
On the table was a proposal to eliminate parking on Menomonie Street, while reserving 12 parking spaces on Main Street, in front of the courthouse and PSB, for law enforcement vehicles.
Despite opposition from city Police Chief Jan Noble and newly elected Boone County Sheriff Dave Ernest, council came close to passing the idea. Support came from aldermen Ron Brooks, George Crawford, Clint Morris, Mark Sanderson and Clayton Stevens, with opposition from Daniel Arevalo, Wendy Frank, Tom Ratcliffe and John Sanders. Alderman Dan Snow was absent.
The issue had been tabled in February, meaning it had to be removed from the table for discussion to resume. That motion, made March 7, also passed in a 5-4 vote.
Space in the PSB is shared by the city and county, as are expenses. The building is located in the 4th Ward, represented by aldermen Brooks and Crawford. They voted in favor of the proposal that evolved after many months of discussion.
A RAMP planner now has been joined by the city’s new planner, Gina DelRose, who started March 24, to work on the issue. Brooks said that was fine with him.
“I’m waiting to see what they come up with,” he said, and when it comes to a solution, he added, “It’s not about me; it’s what the people want.”
While he thought the solution was simple, he recalled that “at one point there were $1 million worth of salaries meeting on it at city hall and here we are.”
Safety was a primary reason for opposition from the county’s two top law enforcement officials.
Sheriff Ernest said in February that he was “really shocked” when he heard about the proposal to have officers park further away from the building.
In addition, he said the courthouse is busier today than ever before.
“We need more parking, not less,” he said. “I urge you to reject this ordinance.”
Chief Noble cautioned aldermen to “heed what’s going on here.” The plan on the table pushes employees further away from the public safety building, he said.
The threat of vandalism also was a concern.