The Midway City Council at its meeting last Wednesday, Oct. 23, unanimously passed an ordinance that will, according to Mayor Grayson Vandegrift, “add teeth to two parts of our zoning code . . . property owners who stick us in the eye by paying piddly fines while (they) keep doing things the wrong way. And, targeting violators of our STR/B&B ordinances who simply pass small fines on to their customers. These higher fines should help do what they are intended to … deter violations.”

The fines for the zone violations are significantly increased and can be enforced civilly instead of relying on prosecution in district court by the county attorney.

Vandegrift thanked Councilmember Patrick Hall for his hard work and leadership in devising the new fine structure.

Thanksgiving parade project

Matthew Donohue presented an idea for a Thanksgiving Day parade which would include a large inflatable turkey. Donohue sought permission to shut down the west side of Main Street traffic for about two hours to photograph the turkey being walked down Main Street similar to the Macy’s Day Parade. 

“It will be the saddest Macy’s Day Parade-like thing ever, but I will turn it into something that will knock the door down, that the community will buy into,” said Donohue. 

Donohue said the project will be part of a Thanksgiving 2025 parade. Councilmember Logan Nance and Vandegrift suggested Donohue pick a specific date and time when it is known traffic is light, file a request for a permit and the city will likely approve it at its next meeting in November.

Honorary streets

Nance presented an idea to the council that he would like to be discussed at the next meeting. Nance said he saw how other cities developed a process for naming streets or parts of streets in honor of a person. “It will be someone deserving of the honor, and I think we need a written process for this. It would be an application with guidelines on how someone who is to be honored qualifies to have a street named for them and the process to go through,” he said.

Prayers

Councilmember Dee Mason asked for prayers from her colleagues on the council and the community. She said she received difficult news about her health and will be undergoing treatments involving shots.