Bonnie Raff, dressed as Martha Washington, speaks to the board about the importance of Constitution Week.

The Hope Board of Directors met at 7 p.m. Tuesday night to hear a proclamation about Constitution Week and Native American Indian Awareness Month, voting to name the streets at Fair Park, amending Ordinance 1473 – Property Maintenance, and waiving the bid ordinance for the airport roof project.

After the invocation and Pledge of Allegiance, the board approved the minutes of the August 17th board meeting.

Bonnie Raff spoke to the board about the importance of Constitution Week, and stated that the proclamation for Native American Indian Awareness Month could be tabled until the next meeting, as that would take place the month of October. She also stated that Constitutions would be available at the Hempstead County Library the week of September 17-23.

Thereafter, City Manager Catherine Cook brought forward the proposal to name the streets at Fair Park, citing potential difficulty of emergency services to find incidents within the Fair Park grounds as they currently stand unmarked. After a brief discussion, and leaving the option open to change the names of the streets in future, the board unanimously voted to name the streets as proposed.

City Attorney Randal Wright then read the proposed amendment to Ordinance 1473-Property Maintenance. The amendment will allow barbed wire to be utilized in non-residential security fencing provided it is at least six feet above the surface of the surrounding ground. Use of razor wire will continue to need approval of the Planning Commission as a Special Use Permit. Mayor Still asked for clarification on the “six feet above ground” wording, and it was determined that this would keep it safely above the heads of most adults of average height. The amendment was passed unanimously.

Police Chief J.R. Wilson read the proposed waiving of the bid ordinance for the city’s airport roof. In the time the bid has been open, no takers have come forward to fix the leaks in the flat roof over the airport lobby/lounge area. While several contractors have looked at the structure since the spring, no bids have come forward. Barton Roofing has quoted an estimate of $25,200, which is substantially less than the initial projections of the project. Staff recommended accepting the quote after doing away with the bid ordinance. The board discussed Barton’s estimate and unanimously passed the proposal to waive the ordinance.

After the items on the agenda were concluded, Catherine Cook gave an update on current city projects and Mayor Still commended the Tourism Board for their upkeep of the Interstate exits leading into Hope. Afterwards, the meeting was adjourned.