Council recinds installation of stop signs

Those controversial stop signs are coming down.

At least they are for now, following a resolution passed Monday by Wapakoneta City Council members that acknowledged city leaders didn’t follow the procedures

outlined in the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control

Devices that govern when and where multiway stop signs can be installed.

Dean Hobler, a Warren Drive resident, approached councilors during the Nov. 1 meeting to protest the

installation of the signs at the intersection of Carnation and Stoneybrook

drives. Claiming the signs “impacted our lives in a

negative way,” Hobler also quoted the Ohio Revised Code, the traffic manual

and the city’s own precedence to prove Wapakoneta officials acted too impulsively to respond to a request from another resident of that area.

Aaron Stiger, who lives near the intersection of those two streets, approached city council on Oct. 5 asking them to consider a stop sign to improve the safety of that intersection. He said a dip in the road made visibility an issue for pedestrians as well as drivers. The request was considered by the

Streets and Alley Committee members later that week; their conclusion was a stop sign was warranted, and during the Oct. 19

council meeting, asked the administration to arrange for installation of signage

in an effort to keep pedestrians safe.

Grant Neal, the city’s law director, researched Hobler’s claims and told council members the sign

is likely unenforceable if challenged, as it was installed without a traffic

study, among other requirements.

Chad Dunlap, chairman of the streets and alleys committee, said the request for stop signs was

based solely on safety concerns, and admitted

ignorance about any other requirements needing to be met.

“We don’t know what we don’t know,” Neal agreed.

Councilor Brandon Miller asked Neal to outline a step-by-step list of what council must do in order to legally install stop

signs in the city. In the meantime, the resolution called for the signs to be removed, which in turn would allow a traffic study be done unimpeded.

Interim Mayor Steve Henderson said council’s actions also call into question the change in

stop signs at the Timber Trail and Stoneygate Court

intersection that were approved in July 2020 when Timber Trail resident

Scott Minnig requested a change in the traffic pattern, claiming drivers tended to speed in that area.

“Those were safety concerns too,” Henderson reminded councilors,

noting those signs were installed under the previous administration.

David Hibner, a Stoneygate resident, protested the action at a subsequent meeting, saying a traffic

study was a normal procedure prior to making changes.

Hibner at the time said he thought it would be a “good idea to reconsider” the stop signs — take them down and conduct a traffic study, “and then if I’m wrong, put them back up.”

Henderson was president of council then, and he dismissed the notion council didn’t investigate the

issue, saying the members of both the Streets and Alleys and Health and Safety committees were unanimous in their decision to move the stop signs to Timber Trail.

Following the vote Monday to approve the removal resolution, Dunlap addressed the 15-plus residents

in attendance at the meeting, a couple of whom were cautioned by acting council President Chad Doll to refrain from commenting from their seats.

“I appreciate the passion,” Dunlap said, noting he’s heard from a number of residents on the issue. “That’s what we’re here for.”

ALSO ON MONDAY, councilors adopted both the ordinance allowing ODOT to pave a portion of Ohio 33 and Ohio 29 in the city limits,

and gave permission for the director of safety and service to sell certain personal property items in the possession of the city.

Council heard the second reading of the resolution that will place the half-percent income tax levy for

streets on the May primary ballot and the first reading of the 2022 appropriations ordinance (budget). They also read the ordinance for the

increase in salary for the law director’s position, from $26,000 to $36,000, effective Jan. 1, 2024.

Following an executive session that included a discussion with Pat Hire of Clemons Nelson and Associates, the city’s labor relations consultant,

council approved a contract with the police department union. The threeyear deadline includes raises of 3 percent each of the three years.

Councilor Terry Campbell, reporting from the Lands and Buildings Committee, introduced a motion to

instruct administration to direct crews to move the 15-inch sewer line on the property at the corner of Eastown and Middle streets “to

maximize its footprint” prior to transferring the property to the

city’s Community Improvement Corp. to facilitate the sale of the land.

The Streets and Alleys Committee will meet Thursday at 7 p.m. to discuss a stop sign request on Leon Pratt Drive; the Health and Safety Committee will meet Tuesday at 7

p.m. to continue its discussion of food truck regulations. The Lodging Tax Committee will meet if necessary on Dec. 20 at 6:15 p.m. City council meets again Dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m. All will meet at city hall on Parlette Court.