Smithville's Longtime Main Street Alley Could Be Fenced Off by Private Owner
For 50 years — going back to when 110 Main Street was Charlie’s BBQ — Smithville has used that empty space as an alley. But did you know it’s actually a deeded lot?
By Kristen Meriwether, Publisher
If you’ve been down the south side of Main Street, you’ve probably walked, driven or sat to watch a parade in the space between Tiger Gym and what used to be the Playhouse at 110 Main Street.
For 50 years — going back to when 110 Main Street was Charlie’s BBQ — Smithville has used that space as an alley. But did you know it’s actually a deeded lot?
The city never designated it as an official alley, and in September 2008 the city conveyed the lot to Sid Millspaugh in a 380 economic development agreement, according to a timeline provided by the city.
According to the timeline, the city council unanimously approved a minor replat on Aug. 14, 2017, to make 101 and 100 Main Street one parcel.
At Wednesday’s Historic Preservation and Design Standards quarterly meeting, Millspaugh requested fencing off access to the empty lot, as well as portions of 100 Main Street.
“We've had an enormous amount of traffic lately. Over the years, it's just kept growing and growing and growing,” Millspaugh said during the meeting. “We want to kind of try to get it so that there's more vegetation on it and it looks nicer from the streets than it does now, and make it look good, kind of like across the street [200 Main].”
The committee asked Millspaugh if adding the fence to the empty lot would impede firefighter access and he said he would visit with the fire department and show them how to dismantle the fence quickly, or they could simply run over it.
“I think the danger is more or less from pedestrians who come out of the gym getting run over by a car, then basically an impediment to the fire department,” Millspaugh said.
If approved by the city council, he plans to use a split rail fence similar to what is around First Street and Main Street so it will be congruent with the surrounding property.
The Historic Preservation and Design Standards voted 4-3 to recommend the Certificate of Appropriateness. The Smithville City Council will vote on the COA at its Nov. 10 meeting.
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