Today's Feature

Rezoning Approved.

The rezoning of property at 1926 S. Garrison, the former Hazlett’s building, was approved by City Council during Tuesday’s regular meeting. The rezoning was requested by property owner Vince Scott, who intends to lease the building to a restaurant. With the new zoning, the building tenant will be able to serve alcoholic beverages. The zoning was changed from "A" First Dwelling and "D" Local Business to "E" General Business, which allows for the sale of alcohol. In addition to the zoning ordinance, Council also approved an ordinance which amends the "E" Zoning as a means of prohibiting the location from being used as a bar or tavern.

Much citizen participation was heard on Tuesday, both in opposition and in favor of the rezoning. Citizen Kent Neil told Council that he was in favor of the creation of new businesses, but that he could not understand rezoning the property for "unknown purposes." Neil called it "speculative zoning" and said he felt it would be acceptable for a business to be rezoned for a given purpose, but not for the benefit of an investor.

Citizen Jess Kessinger echoed Neil’s statement concerning the rezoning.

"The City should not be in the real estate market to help the seller," said Kessinger.

Kessinger added that the zoning was in place to protect the people, and that it would be more difficult to reverse the zone change if the building continued to be unoccupied.

Carthage Chamber of Commerce President and Economic Development Director John Bode told Council that it was not uncommon for a property to be rezoned prior to leasing.

"The zoning needs to be ready for the business," said Bode, adding that many businesses would not purchase or lease a building if it was not zoned properly for the intended use.

At the previous reading of the ordinance Dick Largent, a representative for Vince Scott, said that if the property was rezoned a privacy fence could be built to help protect the neighbors from the lights and noise of a restaurant. Largent also spoke of imposing a percentage split between food sales and liquor sales.

Largent reiterated these compromises on Tuesday, saying that a 60% food/30% alcohol or 70/30% split would be acceptable. These conditions were verbally agreed upon but were not written in the proposal.

Citizen Ivan Hager voiced the opinion that if the compromises were met, that he would not oppose the rezoning. But Hager expressed concerns that the compromise was not in writing.

"The bill tonight doesn’t provide for any agreements," said Hager.

During the ordinance discussion, Council member Diane Sharits requested that the ordinance amending the zoning restrictions be voted upon prior to the ordinance rezoning the property, so that the record would show the changes to the "E" zoning as established before the rezoning of the property. Council agreed and approved the amendments to the "E" zoning in a 9 to 1 vote. Council member Tom Flanigan opposed the amendment.

During the reading of the subsequent rezoning ordinance, several Council members voiced their opinions. Council member Bill Welch said he would vote in favor of the rezoning if the privacy fence was to be included. Council member Larry Ross said he had received several calls from citizens hoping for new restaurants in Carthage, and that he intended to vote in favor of the zoning change for that reason.

Council member Bill Fortune said he intended to vote against the rezoning. Fortune said he felt the Council had an obligation to listen to the people who live in the neighborhood.

The vote to rezone was split 6-4. Those in favor of the rezoning included; Diane Sharits, Bill Johnson, Bill Welch, Dan Rife, Larry Ross and Mike Harris. Those who opposed the rezoning included; Cynthia Curry, Tom Flanigan, Claude Newport and Bill Fortune.

In fact in a lot a cases, it’s more frustratin’ for elected officials to change things than it is for the rest of us. ‘Course that’s why the system is built the way it is.

Although it’s easy to understand wantin’ to hurry up the process, even the appearance of public officials tryin’ to bypass the normal procedure typically results in the erosion of public confidence.

Cards can be played close to the vest, but even in a friendly game, it’s best ta keep your hands above the table.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Click & Clack Talk Cars
By Tom & Ray Magliozzi

I recently saw an article of a Web site claiming that car owners should pump their gas in the morning, when it’s cool out, instead of the afternoon, when it’s hot. The alleged reasoning is that gasoline expands at higher temperatures and contracts at lower temperatures, allowing more "dense" gas to be pumped when it’s cold. I personally think this is nonsense, because gas stored in an underground 500-gallon tank probably doesn’t warm by more than a few degrees. So, what is the truth to this? - Richard

RAY: Well, the expansion story is true, Richard. When gas pumps are calibrated, they’re set to measure a gallon of gasoline that’s 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

TOM: But when gasoline gats hotter than that, it expands. So you get less than a gallon’s worth of energy for every gallon you pump. How much less? Well, the most recent congressional study we’ve seen found that the average temperature of gasoline sold in the United States is almost 65 degrees F. That means the average Joe is paying an extra 3 cents a gallon for phantom gasoline.

RAY: What can be done about it? Well, you can fill up in the middle of the night. But a better solution would be to use pumps that compensate for temperature fluctuations. In Canada, where gasoline is usually COLDER, which is to the consumer’s advantage - it was the gas stations that voluntarily backed a program to use those pumps. Quelle surprise, as they say in Quebec!

TOM: But here, where the gas stations are getting the extra money, they argue that retrofitting their pumps is too expensive.

RAY: But with the value of the phantom gasoline sold adding up to more than $2 billion a year now, the pressure on the gas stations will probably continue to heat up.