The Staples City Council, after listening to the pros and cons of adding a second street dance to the Railroad Days schedule in August and holding it in a residential neighborhood, decided to table the request to give the local chamber of commerce time to consider and revise some of their proposals.

Two neighbors along Dakota Avenue in south Staples held opposing views on a street dance proposed for Friday night at the former Lincoln School building. Singer/song writer Wayne Renn, who owns and lives in the Lincoln School building, has proposed to the Staples and Motley Area Chamber of Commerce that he stage a country music dance and beer garden on his site.

“I’m proposing a fun, family oriented event here in Staples,” Renn told the city council at its April 27 session after he was introduced by Mayor Chris Etzler. He is suggesting having an event from 5 p.m. to midnight, with a beer garden hosted by Captain Ron’s Bar, which would check all identification and be responsible for roping off an area for the beer garden. Renn said he has spent his lifetime in the music industry, traveling “all over the country.” Now, he said, he’d like to put on a show in his home town.

Renn said he had contacted roughly 15 people in his neighborhood and had received “all sorts of neighborhood reaction.” Most were receptive to his idea, he said, with one or two opposed. He turned around as he addressed the city council, motioned to his neighbor – Doug Case – and said “Evilest talked to Doug here earlier.”

Case, no stranger to anything that hints of change along Dakota Avenue, noted that they are both neighbors. “ I don’t really want to be opposed to my neighbor,” he said. “But there are appropriate places for everything, and this is not an appropriate place for a street dance.”

The Staples Police Department ser- geant listed a number of possible problems, including people having too much to drink, then walking down sidewalks and alleys late at night, walking through people’s yards. He suggested a better location would be Pine Grove Park, as it has a large open area and is not in a residential area.

Case, who heads up the local car club’s car show the same weekend, noted he will be up at 5 a.m. Saturday working on the car show. He would like to have a full night’s sleep before working all day at the car show, then going to work in uniform that evening at the regular street dance. With Renn’s proposal, he told the council, “You’re taking away everyone’s privacy for those hours.”

The council was getting this question in April so that chamber members can plan for this if the city is willing to okay a second dance. Numerous ideas for revising Renn’s plans came from council members. Mayor Chris Etzler asked if Renn could consider an earlier event, lasting only until 9 or 11 p.m. Etzler and Council Member Stan Carlson suggested a concert rather than a dance. JoEllen (Einerwold) Reeck suggested a meal to begin the event with the music to end earlier than Renn’s proposed midnight wrapup.

Rob Schmieg said he has received several phone calls from Renn’s neighbors who disapprove of the idea. He also said that Police Chief Kyle Huber, who was not present at the meeting, was also opposed to Renn’s plans.

Joel Quance, who like Doug Case, lives about a block from where the street dance is to take place, said he had conducted an informal poll of the neighborhood and found many concerns, including noise, parking problems and unneeded contributions to bad behavior on the south side. But, he added, “I’m not dead set against the idea, but I’m not excited about it going to midnight. I’m not excited about mixing the beer garden and the dance together. “

Roy Miles, council member and pastor at the Staples Assembly of God Church, questioned Renn’s version of a family fun night. “I’ve got a problem when you say you want a family fun night and it’s got beer.”

One other neighbor of Renn’s was at the council meeting and also objected to the dance at the former school site. This woman, who did not give her name, said she objected to having beer sales in the neighborhood. She also suggested Pine Grove Park as an alternative.

Chamber events coordinator Joleen Yungbauer agreed with the council’s suggestion that the chamber and Renn consider the issues brought up at the council session and consider having an earlier closing without any alcohol sales. The council then tabled the chamber’s request on a 6-1 vote, with Rob Schmieg opposed.

One other item on the council’s short agenda took up some time. The council, after much discussion, voted 4-3 to change their normal first meeting of each month from a 7 p.m. start to a noon convening time. For as long as anyone can remember, the council has met at 7 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. Now they will meet at noon on the second Tuesday and at 7 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday.

Prior to the action, several options were discussed. Having a council meeting at about 5 p.m. was one idea. Reeck suggested a morning meeting time or noon sessions. City Administrator Nate Mathews said that meeting at noon this summer could be a very convenient timing to allow the council to meet with the engineers overseeing the old Highway 10 (Second Avenue) reconstruction work. Shortly after that, Reeck moved to set the first meeting of each month at noon from May through September, as a trial idea.

Various pros and cons of this idea were brought up in a 15-minute discussion. Eventually, the idea was okayed on the 4-3 vote, with Stan Carlson, Don Flaten and Rob Schmieg opposed. Voting for the change in time were Reeck, Joel Quance, Roy Miles and Mayor Etzler.

In other matters, the city council:

o APPROVED an off sale intoxicating liquor license for the Staple Food Corporation, which operates the Ernie’s Food Mart store now under construction on Highway 10.

o APPROVED a lawful gambling premises permit for the Confidence Learning Center to sell pull tabs at Captain Ron’s Sports Bar and & Grill.

o APPROVED several year-end financial adjustments to the 2009 city budget based on the auditor’s recommendations.

o HEARD a report on the city park and recreation board meeting, learning that the board is looking at changes in the plants placed in the Highway 10 planters.

o HEARD Police Sergeant Doug Case say that being assigned to do public nuisance inspections in the city should not interfere with his other police duties. They also laid out some ideas for a possible city wide cleanup event sponsored by the city with help from personnel with the Todd County Solid Waste Department.