By By Ben Alexander/The Meridian Star
March 7, 2001
The Meridian City Council approved a paving project Tuesday, despite protest from a small group of residents opposed to the extension of 10th Avenue through their quiet neighborhood.
Sally Skipper, who lives on Old Country Club Place, represented the residents at Tuesday's council meeting.
Local real estate developer Robert Ward requested that 10th Avenue be extended because his Windmill Crossing subdivision will occupy areas near the expansion. The 1,200 feet of paving would extend 10th Avenue, building a small bridge across a creek and connecting it to Old Country Club Place in North Meridian.
Skipper came to the council meeting armed with a letter signed by the seven other residents who live inside the city limits on Old Country Club Place. The paving and construction will likely increase traffic substantially on Old Country Club Place and make the small neighborhood a thoroughfare for city and county residents.
City leaders, however, say an extension of 10th Avenue will decrease the amount of time it takes fire department personnel to respond to fires in some parts of North Meridian by offering a shorter route to several neighborhoods.
The residents of Old Country Club Place are so upset about the possible increase in traffic, their letter to the council requested that their neighborhood be "de-annexed" if the council allowed the paving.
Before voting to allow the paving, several council members said they sympathize with the residents.
The council didn't respond to the residents' request to be de-annexed.
Ben Alexander is a staff writer for The Meridian Star. E-mail him at balexander@themeridianstar.com.