Council amends ordinance on camping in park

Perry Village Council has amended an ordinance that made it illegal to camp in the community’s Lee Lydic Park.

But before anyone decides to celebrate by heading to the park with their tent and start a campfire to spend the night, they need to first talk with Mayor James Gessic.

Council, during its Feb. 13 meeting, was asked to revise the ordinance that prohibited camping in the village park.

The request was presented to council based on observation made by Village Solicitor James Loiacono and Police Chief Troy Hager.

“It came to our attention upon the request of the Girl Scouts to have a campover or sleepover, that we have an unconditional prohibition on our books that you just can’t camp in the park,” Loiacono said.

The solicitor and police chief discussed the matter further, and agreed on an idea to lift the outright ban on camping in Lee Lydic Park, which is located on Call Road.

“We don’t anticipate any major problems if we put it in the hands of the mayor to review the application of whomever wishes to sleep over, and with (council’s) guidance, the mayor can give approval for camping,” Loiacono said.

Loiacono said he wanted to leave the final decision to the mayor as the village’s chief administrative officer. But he added that council could offer its input on allowable activities for camping, as well as the qualifications of a campsite leader.

“Obviously, we’d want to have an adult, you’d want to have somebody that has maybe some CPR training and have some guidance as to open campfires,” he said. “(Council members) each may have specific ideas.”

After a brief discussion, council approved the ordinance unanimously.