Frustrated with council’s response
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Editor,
This letter is in response to the Valley Journal article concerning the Ronan City Council Meeting held on July 22, 2013. I attended this meeting to ask for clarification on the application we submitted to Ronan City Hall for our annual street dance held on Friday and Saturday nights of Pioneer Days.
My biggest concern is in order for the Pheasant Lounge and Second Chance Saloon to receive approval for these two nights we are required to pay for an open container permit for our businesses and clean all garbage from our event in town. Yet patrons from other similar establishments in Ronan and the rodeo walk all through Ronan with open containers and drop their beverage bottles, cans and food trash as they go, with no consequences.
I asked several questions as to why we were required to clean all garbage. The answer I received was “People come to town for the dance” and drop their garbage all over town and in the park. I informed the council that people also come to town for the fair, 3 on 3, rodeo, car show, fun run, volleyball, etc. The Mayor kept insisting that if it wasn’t for the street dance and people walking downtown to attend, the garbage would be minimal. I told the Council that I was not opposed to cleaning up the trash from our event, however, I was opposed to cleaning all trash from other streets and the park, due to the fact that Pioneer Days is a community event and that all businesses benefit from this weekend and all people involved should help with the clean-up. I also stated that if the city police would enforce the open container law the alcohol trash would be limited to our one block for the street dance. After several minutes of trying to get this message across to the city council I asked the Mayor “So if Rod and I don’t have the street dance, who would be responsible for the clean-up?” He and the Council could not answer this question. We were thanked for coming in and dismissed.
Lori Peterson
Ronan
