Burning times are becoming a hot issue in the village of Iola.
“It absolutely makes no sense that you can’t burn here until after dark,” Mary Devine told the Iola Village Board at its Nov. 10 meeting.
Devine objected to the 6 p.m. curfew on burning that is currently part of the village’s open burning ordinance. She also objected to no burning during the winter months.
“It needs to be changed,” Devine said.
Village Trustee Richard Anderson said the ordinance was changed due to complaints that some residents were burning all night long. Anderson said some people were reportedly letting the fires smolder “just to annoy the neighbors.”
“We had to make an ordinance to take care of the trouble makers,” he said.
According to Anderson, the dates for the village’s open burning ordinance were adopted from the state and county ordinances.
Devine asked why the village does not allow open burning on Sundays. The board members explained that this ban is in place to reduce the chance that the fire department would need to be called out on a Sunday.
Devine asked that the village board consider changing its open burning ordinance.
“The time needs to be changed … for safety reasons,” she said.
The board reported that a public hearing on possible changes to the village’s open burning ordinance has been set for 6:15 p.m. Monday, Dec. 8.
There will also be a public hearing at 6:25 p.m. on Dec. 8 to discuss possible changes to village ordinances regarding fees charged for variance applications, conditional use permits and zoning change requests.
Both hearings will be held during the regular monthly board meeting, which begins at 6 p.m.
Village refinancing
In other business, the board approved refinancing of its General Obligation debts of $1.27 million.
The refinancing will combine all the village’s debts into one loan and create an annual repayment structure.
The new loan includes a 10-year locked-in 4 percent interest rate, compared to the previous rate of 4.25 percent.
By refinancing, the village will save about $3,000 annually in interest rates, with two payments per year.
The board also approved the surrendering of the Class B retail liquor license previously held by Just Rusty’s. The license will revert back to the Iola Community Golf Club, Inc., Brian J. Derus, president.