The Mitchell City Council on Monday night sent a resounding message when it denied an ordinance to ban trailers, boats and an allotment of recreational vehicles from parking on our city's streets.
The actions of the council members proved it's their constituents, not a personal agenda, that matter most when making important decisions.
The six members of the council who were present at Monday's meeting made it clear that the majority of Mitchell residents are not in favor of the plan. Mayor Jerry Toomey said he "heard the different side" in which some citizens were happy he was taking the stance with the parking-ban ordinance.
No matter which side of the issue you may fall, seemingly the majority of Mitchell residents who've spoken up apparently think our city's streets are just fine. That's why we're glad to see the ordinance fail and we hope discussion on the plan is dropped altogether.
Councilman Marty Barington on Monday said he's heard from several of his constituents - some who support the parking ban, but most do not. So, he's dead-set against changing the ordinance.
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We haven't heard of anyone who supports the ban, but we're certain there are residents who aren't happy seeing the city's streets lined with boats, RVs and trailers.
But because there's never going to be a reasonable compromise is why the discussion of changing the ordinance should be dropped completely. The council is against making major changes, while the mayor specifically wants significant alterations to the ordinance.
We realize there's an issue at hand, but it doesn't seem like some key players at the table are willing to budge on their viewpoints.
Council members on Monday night weren't against revisiting the ordinance if the mayor's hand-picked parking committee discusses the topic further. But we think that could be a waste of people's time.
Toomey introduced the parking ban in late March, so Mitchell residents have had plenty of time to review it and make their voices heard.
They've done that, and the council has reacted.
So, rather than wasting additional efforts through parking committee discussions, only to have the council review it and deny it again doesn't make much sense, especially if there's no compromise.
Sure, some people in Mitchell may not like the parking laws in our city. But that doesn't seem to be the case for most of our residents.
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We commend the council for speaking for the majority and standing up for what's right.
