| 2/6/2008 3:00:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article | City wants fire code exemption renewed for Delta Queen
Peggy Vlerebome
Courier Staff Writer
The Madison City Council passed a resolution asking Indiana's senators and District 9 representative to support renewal of an exemption from a federal fire code for the Delta Queen paddlewheel steamboat.
The Delta Queen's exemption is scheduled to expire Nov. 1. The code provision was written in the 1960s for ocean-going vessels, not river boats like the Delta Queen, Corey Murphy, executive director of the Madison-Jefferson County Economic Development Corp., told the council. He requested the resolution.
The Delta Queen is scheduled to visit Madison 14 times this year, Murphy said, and bring 2,500 visitors. Because tourism plays "a vital role" in Madison's economy, Murphy said in urging passage of the resolution, keeping the Delta Queen afloat is important.
The owner of the Delta Queen had announced the boat, which is a National Historic District, would be retired after this year. A group separate from the ownership started a Web site, www.save-the-delta-queen.org, to campaign for extension of the exemption. Last month, Joe Ueberroth, president of Majestic America Line, which owns the Delta Queen, started his own drive. He wrote a "white paper" about the Delta Queen and asked for help in bringing pressure for the extension. His paper is posted on the Web site.
The Delta Queen has had its exemption renewed nine times since the fire code provision was set in federal law in 1966. The law requires superstructures to be built of fire retardant materials; the Delta Queen was built with a wooden superstructure, much of which has been replaced with fire retardant materials.
For reasons that have not been stated, Murphy and Ueberroth said, committee chairmen in the House and Senate have refused to schedule a hearing on a bill that would extend the exemption for 10 years. Supporters of the bill include Republican Kentucky congressmen Geoff Davis, Ron Lewis and Ed Whitfield.
The City Council voted 5-0 in favor of the resolution, with members Rick Berry and Darrell Henderson absent.
Update on bridge meeting
Officials from both sides of the river met again last week and came away with one word that needs to be emphasized when the Madison-Milton bridge is the topic: Replacement.
Other places - such as Louisville - want new bridges, but Madison and Trimble County, Ky., want a replacement, Murphy told the council.
The term should be used "to differentiate ourselves" from others vying for funds, he said. "We just want one that works," he said.
A consultant has started environmental and location studies, he said. "The next step is securing funds for right of way and utilities," he said. Bridge proponents will need to talk to officials in Indianapolis, Frankfurt and Washington, D.C., he said, and also need to educate the public about the importance of unity in getting a bridge built.
He said the group that met will be promoting public participation in hearings, and that the consultants hired by Kentucky will be scheduling public hearings as part of their work.
Murphy said he will send a survey soon to businesses of all types and sizes as he puts together a report on the economic impact of the bridge. A similar survey also will be sent to Kentucky businesses, he said.
Murphy said there is talk of forming a public-private group, the U.S. 421 Bridge Replacement Coalition, to champion the bridge.
"Replacement is something we want to stress," Mayor Tim Armstrong told the City Council. "It's a necessity for us."
Location has been an issue in the past. "We need to come together as a community as far as location," Armstrong said.
The people who attended the meeting last week in addition to Armstrong and Murphy were Julie Berry, Jefferson County commissioner; Galen Bremmer, executive vice president of the Madison Area Chamber of Commerce; Jenny Eggenspiller, field representative for U.S. Rep. Baron Hill, D-Ind.; Shannon Hoskins, clerk/treasurer of City of Milton, Ky.; Christina Poole, field representative for U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis, R-Ky.; John Staicer, executive director of Historic Madison Inc.; and Randy Stevens, judge-executive of Trimble County, Ky.
Police Departmet details calls
The Madison Police Department received 799 calls in January, made 67 arrests, issued 44 citations and gave 47 warnings. The statistics are in a report that new Police Chief John Wallace gave to the City Council on Tuesday.
There were more case follow-ups - 60 - than any other kind of activity, followed by civil domestic cases, 55; assisting motorists, 49; suspicious people or vehicles, 47; burglar alarms, 39; intoxicated drivers or pedestrians, 36; harassment, threats, 28; noise calls, 27; juvenile/school calls, 26; vandalism, 20; breaking-and-entering, thefts other than those involving residences, 20; assist EMS, 20; welfare checks, 19; fires and alarms, 19; vehicle and hull identification number checks, 17; provide escorts, 17; assistant another department, 16; assist another law enforcement agency, 16; animal calls, 16; reckless driving or speeding, 15; assault with injury, 13; fights, 13; shoplifter, 13; drug-related, 12; warrant servings or attempts to serve, 11; breaking and entering or theft at a business, 10; 911 hang-up calls, 10; parking problems, 10.
Types of calls in the single digits were: general, eight; security checks, seven; tavern calls, six; recover property or article, six; traffic control, six; stolen cars, five; miscellaneous, five; abandoned vehicles, four; drive-offs without paying for fuel, four; check cases, four; gun, weapon, three; parking lots cleared, three; breath tests and polygraphs, four; protective orders, two and bicycle cases, two.
The report listed no calls about sex crimes, walk-aways or escapees, child abuse, deceased people, or people being locked out and needing emergency attention.
There were 39 accidents in January, six of them with injuries and none with fatalities, and 33 with property damage.
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Reader Comments
Posted: Thursday, February 07, 2008
Article comment by:
Jo Ann Schoen
Thanks so much to the City Council for passing the Resolution to SAVE THE DELTA QUEEN. There is a bill H.R. 3852 that was introduced on October 16th to the House of Representatives to exempt the DELTA QUEEN. However, it has to go to the Transportation Committee, chaired by James L. Oberstar of Minnesota, who is opposed to the exemption. Therefore he will not let it out of his committee. In order to get it to the House floor for a vote 216 Representatives need to co-sponsor that bill. It should be noted that Baron Hill, our Representative has NOT signed on as a co-sponsor. Please call, write, email and fax his office to let him know that your suppport the exemption. I know for a fact he has received in his office over 1,000 signatures from his District supporting the exemption. Please add your name and voice to that list. Encourage all your family friends and neighbors to do the same. Thank you for helping SAVE THE DELTA QUEEN!
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