During the Tuesday night’s City Commission meeting’s public comment section several business owners an The Chamber Of Commerce brought forth concerns over the projects underway in downtown Richmond. Part of the original plans for construction was a new parking garage which has since been cancelled. The business owners felt that the addition of a new park would cause parking on main street to become even more congested. Mayor Jim Barnes responded by saying that the commission is aware of the issue and that after further reviews found that the parking garage is not a viable solution, he went on to say that the commission is continuing to look for a solution to parking.
The ordinance allowing Richmond police officers to conceal carry anywhere in the state has also been updated. This change was just to update minor details that reference certain laws. The ordinance was originally passed in 1970. The city also removed an ordinance that required pawn shops to keep records on gun sales as a state law was passed requiring the same.
People who have unpaid fines or taxes to the city will now be unable to use city services such as requesting business permits.
The city manager is now able to make reasonable changes to parking zones if they feel that it is a danger to public safety. The manager can create no parking zones to allow emergency vehicles to pass through narrow streets easier.
Lastly, the city will be taking ninety-one thousand dollars from the city contingency fund for the Richmond Industrial Park III water line extension project.
