Marion Commission considers outages

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN MELISSA FUNK
Members of the Marion City Commission considered at their Monday meeting the ramifications of the county-wide burn ban the Marion County Commission had passed earlier in the day.



County commissioners also asked that the fireworks display planned for Sept. 3 at Marion County Lake be cancelled. Because the fireworks were already purchased, organizers will possibly reschedule the event.



Harvey Sanders of the City of Marion’s electrical department talked about power outages and brown outs. He said a blown fuse generally causes brown outs in the city. This causes only partial voltage, which results in residential lights dimming.



The fuses are weakened by the static electricity caused from the lightening strikes, Sanders said.



When a fuse is blown, city workers have to find which fuse is blown and replace it. The most recent outage occurred last Thursday and took about 30 to 40 minutes to correct.



Sanders said the best course of action a person can take is to know the location of the main breakers in the home.



If a brownout or power outage occurs, residents should throw the main breaker, then phone the city office to report the problem.



Eloise Meuller, of the Marion Beautification Committee, reported that her committee is exploring erecting signs designating the cemetery, schools, library, city building, city pool and other public facilities.



Meuller also asked whether the city had a committee to report signs that need to be replaced. It was noted that signs are replaced as needed throughout the city and that a committee is working on signage outside of town.



Meuller asked if the city had any plans to have old-fashioned lights installed along Main Street. Commission members noted they are looking into the possibility possibly in 2002.



Linda Holub of the city office reported on how to avoid utility cut-offs when out of town. She suggested people should either leave post-dated checks, call and find out the amount of the bill and mail in the check, or have someone else drop off the payment.



City bills go out on the first of the month and are due on the 15th. Holub will look into the possibility of paying bills on-line.



Trash days will be as follows in light of the Labor Day holiday: Next Monday’s usual trash will be picked up on Tuesday and Tuesday’s on Wednesday. The schedule returns to normal on Thursday.



The ballparks in Marion are being monitored for the appearance of army worms since they were found at the adjacent football field.



Over-seeding is planned for the ballparks in September.



The next scheduled meeting of the Marion City Commission will be held Tuesday, Sept. 5, because Labor Day falls on Monday.



The meeting adjourned to executive session; no decisions were made when the public meeting resumed.

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