Hertford Town Council denies request to close town street for party, urges park use instead

HERTFORD — Hertford Town Council voted unanimously last week to deny a citizen request to close a portion of King Street for an outdoor birthday party, saying the request wasn’t submitted in enough time to alert emergency responders to plan for alternate routes.

Councilors also expressed frustration during the July 8th meeting that citizens are requesting to close streets for celebrations instead of using available public spaces like Missing Mill Park or the town’s community center.

Responding to the citizen request to close a portion of King Street for a Saturday, July 13, birthday party, Councilwoman Connie Brothers asked if the town’s custom of requiring 45 days of advance notice for street closings was still in effect. She also expressed concern that a nearby church that holds services on Saturday would be affected if the portion of King Street was closed with roughly only a week’s notice.

Town Manager Janice Cole said the town has exercised some flexibility in the past when responding to a request to close a town street.

“If we are talking about closing a state street, we have to send a notice to the N.C. Department of Transportation and wait for a response,” she said. “If it was a town street, in the past we’ve had more flexibility but we still need advanced notice.”

Cole noted the town needs time to notify a host of public safety agencies — the Perquimans Sheriff’s Office, Perquimans Emergency Medical Services, volunteer fire departments — that a street “isn’t open for their use in the event of an emergency.”

“We also have other people involved” that need to be notified, Cole said. “There are neighbors who should be informed that a street is going to be closed — a street that might impact their drive to and from their homes.“

Cole noted that if an event its sponsored by the town and open to the entire community, it’s easier to close a street to accommodate it. She also noted the town has other facilities available that don’t require closing a street.

“We hope more people would take advantage of Missing Mill Park which has tables in place and space for people to bring lawn chairs,” she said.

Councilwoman Sandra Anderson, who as mayor pro tem presided at the meeting in the absence of Mayor Ashley Hodges, also voiced concerns about the late notice the town would be giving to emergency responders if council approved the street-closing request.

Councilwoman Rhonda Waters expressed concern about the town “setting a precedent” by approving the request on such short notice.

“We are setting a precedent if we do this — approve closing a street on such short notice,” she said. “If we don’t have a policy in place, we are going to need strict guidelines about this. The residents can plan to have it (a birthday party) someplace other than a public street.”

Councilman Keith Rouse said he understands both why a resident might make the request to close a public street and why town officials are reluctant to grant the request on short notice.

“You have a group of people who feel like they were left out years ago,” he said. “Some people even ask why so much is being done to improve things down at the waterfront and not more done in certain communities. There is a corridor of Hertford where people think they don’t matter.

“If we want Hertford to be better than it was in the last 30 years or so, we have to do more to make them feel a part of the town,” he said.

But Rouse said he also understands that Missing Mill Park is open for public use just for such events like the birthday party.

“Everybody is expected to follow the rules,” Rouse said. “If they are expected to make requests in advance, that is something they have to remember, too.”

Cole said she will review the content of inserts distributed to residents along with their monthly utility bills as well as the information posted on the town’s website to see if information about street closings and the availability of parks can be communicated more effectively.

Cole also noted several upcoming public events, including the Friday Night Stroll slated for July 12 and Music in the Park concert featuring a country music band at Missing Mill Park on July 21. Other upcoming events can be found on the calendar page on the town’s website: townofhertfordnc.com.