Newton city officials are looking to eliminate basketball goals being placed on city streets and rights of way in an effort to prevent a serious accident from happening.
City attorney Brian Mayo presented the Newton Board of Aldermen and Mayor Murray Weems with a sample ordinance that stiffen penalties for anyone caught with a basketball goal on a city street.
Currently, the city can remove basketball goals from streets after a warning has been issued and hold them until they are picked up. However, public works superintendent Fred Snow said the basketball goals reappear not long after the basketball goal is picked up.
“We take down a basketball goal and hold it for them to pick up,” Snow said. “About five minutes after that, the goal is right back out there on the street. A new ordinance would help us be able to do our job and keep the basketball goals off the street.”
The proposed ordinance would set penalties for having a basketball goal on city streets starting at $25 for the first offense and would increase to as much as $200 for each subsequent offense. In addition to the fine, the city would also have the authority to dispose of the basketball goal.
The offense would not be subject to arrest or jail time.
Mayo said the mayor and aldermen could consider the ordinance during a meeting in June. If it was approved, the ordinance would go into effect 30 days from its passage.
Mayor Murray Weems said this was the only way that they could ensure that the basketball goals wouldn’t keep reappearing after the city impounded the goals.
“Right now, we don’t have the authority to dispose of the goals for repeat offenders,” Weems said. “A new ordinance could help us deal with this.”
