Smithfield’s City Council held the first public hearing in the city’s new government office buildings on June 9th. Citizens and members were to discuss the proposed Ordinance 10-04, an amendment to the Planned Unit Development section of the city Zoning Ordinance; the Council and citizens were also to consider Mayoral authorization to sign an Agreement for Fire Protection and Emergency Response Services with Hyde Park City, but no definite agreements or changes were made to either agendas.

The Fire Protection Agreement, which would provide Hyde Park with the services of Smithfield City’s Fire Department, was met with slight trepidation on the part of Hyde Park’s Mayor, Bryan Cox, due to legalese. Mayor Darrell Simmons stated, “Mayor Cox has concerns about how that agreement reads. We’ve met at length on this, and he’s got a completely different view.” The Mayor also explained that authorization to sign an Inter-local Agreement for Housing of Equipment and Recruitment and Staffing of Fire Station with Hyde Park City is also at a standstill for the time being until further consideration and an agreement between both Councils can be reached.

The Council also postponed public hearing on Ordinance 10-04, which would create city owned streets instead of narrower, private streets through PUDs, due to the absence of Council Member Brent Buttars and City Manager Jim Gass. That is to be discussed at a later date.

Also to be determined in future Council meetings are: a proposal to improve the fence surrounding the cemetery to decrease hazard, a proposal that residents vote to retain the original or current route of the Health Days parade, and the possibility of a new Police Station behind City Office buildings or in place of the old offices.

For now, however, all proposals are at a standstill until further notice.