Midway City Council got updates from its code enforcement board at its

Monday, Dec. 4 meeting, along with updates on the newly located dog park

and woodland trails.

Steele Rouse, the newly appointed chair of the Midway Code Enforcement

Board, told the council that the board has three responsibilities:

determining if a property owner is in violation of an ordinance –

usually following a complaint or a citation issued by a code enforcement

officer; determining if a property is blighted; and preparing an

abandoned property list to be submitted to the council.

The board is made up of three members and one alternate: Rouse,

chairman; Chris Batts, vice chairman; Amber Rogers, secretary; and Jim

Sparks, advisory.

Rouse said the board will meet quarterly on the second Tuesday of

January, April, July and October at 5:30 p.m. at Midway City Hall and

said all meetings will be open to the public.

Cecelia Gass, chair of the Midway Park Board, and Bob Rathbone, a board

member, provided a report on work done in the park during the first half

of the 2023-2024 Fiscal Year. Rathbone said the newly relocated dog park

is completed and that city employee “Nelson (Wright) did a great job

staying on top of the work and communicating with the contractor.”

Rathbone said dividing the area into areas for big and small dogs was a

big improvement.

Gass reported on several projects. She said most of the woodland trails

had been mulched and that “Nelson was a big support in getting the work

done” and that they used “mulch that the city had made from downed trees

and limbs.” She said that several boards on walkways had been repaired

or replaced, and that non-skid mat strips had been installed on walkways

with slanted areas. Gass added that an arborist had given several

volunteers, including herself, lessons on pruning techniques to help

promote tree health. She said the board was participating in Northside

Elementary School’s “Saddle up Midway” project to help teach fourth

graders about the park’s environment.

Midway Mayor Stacy Thurman reported that the city had purchased two

solar speed signs which will be installed on Stephens Street near Midway

University and on Winter Street to help with the problem of speeders.

The equipment cost $3,500 and was part of the 2023-24 budget.