Berne indecisive about Halloween night
The Berne City Council took a look ahead to October during Monday night’s meeting to decide on which night they wanted to declare trickor-treat night for community members. This past Halloween, trickor-treating corresponded with Treats at the Tower, which brought vendors to Muensterberg Plaza to distribute candy to a long line of celebrating families. This past event was held on Thursday, October 27th. This year the proposed idea was to have the events coincide on Halloween night, which is Tuesday, the 31st, however when the time came for decision-making, the council remained quiet.
“I know there might be some people in the community who are uncomfortable with it being on the 31st,” stated councilwoman Kelly Amstutz. “Just because of what it is associated with.”
Councilman Rod Mason responded saying, “No matter when it is, it is still associated with Halloween, do you think that it makes a difference?”
“I am just speaking from conversations through the years and things that I have heard,” responded Amstutz.
The group agreed that the event can not fall on the same night as the Callithumpian Parade, which was recently scheduled for Monday night, October 30th. Lee Howard, the event coordinator for the Berne Community Development Corporation told Mayor Sprunger that her preference would be October 31st.
Since the decision regarding the date of the Treats at the Tower is ultimately up to the Berne CDC, the council agreed to table the discussion until the next meeting to see if the organization makes their decision about the event. The decision will be back at the next council meeting on the night of March 13th at 6:30 p.m.
Additional business that was taken care of by the council included agreeing to a contract with the county to pay for the City’s portion of the Animal Shelter. This resulted in an unanimous decision to contribute the $6,900.
Lastly it was brought up by councilman John Wanner that a resident reached out to him about an unmarked dead-end on Carrington Way that resulted in a car accident. The road currently has a patch of land in between it that is unowned by the City. The lack of ownership prevents them from finishing the road. While the council unanimously agreed to add signage, there was no confidence that there was anything they could do to finish the road. Sprunger noted that he will reach out to the owners and see if a dialogue can be opened.