PARROTTSVILLE-The town of Parrottsville will not be widening any of its streets any time soon.

Members of the Parrottsville City Council got an earful from several residents who spoke forcefully at the meeting in opposition to the widening of Catbird Avenue and in favor of preserving the small-town atmosphere in  Parrottsville, the third oldest town in Tennessee.

Several citizens wanted to know who suggested widening Catbird Avenue, but no one on the Council directly answered the question. Later, Mayor Ronnie Hommel said Council member Elisa Brown had mentioned unnamed constituents who asked her to push for widening Catbird Avenue.

Most of Thursday's one and one-half hour long meeting centered around the issue of widening streets, especially Catbird Avenue, and other related traffic issues.

Raymond Robinson, who said he lives on Highway 321, was one of about one-half dozen citizens who took turns speaking from a podium set up for them to address the City Council and other residents.

Robinson showed a petition he had circulated and which had been signed by many residents that are opposed to widening Catbird Avenue.

He also said a new citizens group had been formed called Citizens Against Traffic Abuse.

Robinson said he and his wife have lived in Parrottsville only three years, but they were certain they did not want Parrottsville to lose its small-town atmosphere.

Parrottsville "has a good park and a front-porch lifestyle," Robinson said, admiringly.

He added, "The charm of this town is to be on your front porch and watch kids play. There's not much crime here."

Emma Jean Fowler, another citizen who spoke up, said widening Catbird Avenue would "ruin the look" of the town.

She said the town does not have too much traffic and therefore does not need a wider street.

"I sit ... all day long and watch traffic" from her home, Fowler said. She added, "There's not that much traffic. We're just not that big of a city. We're just a small country village. Let's leave our little town as it is."

Fowler said she has lived in Parrottsville 25 years.

She was applauded by many in the audience when she finished speaking.

Some animosity by citizens who spoke was directed toward Mike Johnson, a developer of several apartment units on Parrotts Circle, for allegedly being the cause of increased traffic on some streets.

Mayor Hommel later said Johnson will, when construction is completed, have about 40 apartment units available to rent.

Near the end of the discussion, Mayor Hommel said, "My take on this is to leave everything the way it is," and not widen any streets.

Partly in response to one man's comments, the mayor said, "We'll wait until the new Highway 321 is built to see how the traffic flow is then. It's up to you (the citizens) who live on the streets to say something about it" at that time or else say nothing if they are content with the status quo.

The third annual Saturday Night in the Park on Saturday, June 6, was announced. It was scheduled to include free hot dogs "with all the trimmings" to those who attended the event in LaRue Myers Park, the town's public park. It was also scheduled to include several gospel and country music singers and musicians.

Near the end of the meeting, Randy Masingale asked if the town's leaders would consider offering some financial relief to residents by lowering everyone's sewer bills by 25 percent for a limited time, or offer some kind of reduction in rates, in light of the current economic situation.

Hommel replied that, in fact, the opposite - to raise sewer rates - was being considered. He said the town had some of the lowest sewer rates in the area.

But the mayor also said the town was considering offering a discount on sewer rates that would apply to anyone who pays their bills in advance for one year of service. He said the town could save considerably on paperwork and postage if it did not have to send out a monthly bill to everyone.

Hommel lamented, "Some people don't pay their sewer bills, and I don't know how to get them to do it."

Town Recorder Sheila Strobel then said there are only three individuals who are not paying their sewer bills.

The town's maintenance person, Tim Kerns,  said at the beginning of Thursday's meeting that he had ordered 10 "Children at Play" and other traffic signs to be put in place around town in an effort to slow down traffic.

Kerns also said 10 groups in May had rented one or both of the pavilions in the town's park for a private function.

He also said a leak in the town's sewer plant had been repaired.

In addition, Kerns said a new fountain had been installed in the park, as well as shrubs that had been donated by a local garden club, which has since disbanded.

Kerns said the white fences around the park needed to be pressure-washed and "probably" need a coat of primer paint, and then be painted again.

The City Council voted to raise its charter from $100 to $500. That means the town can write a check up to $500 without board approval, making the running of the town more efficient and less bureaucratic, Hommel said.

Jeff Greene, an attorney with the private law practice of McSween and McSween on East Broadway in Newport, was introduced as the new attorney for the town of Parrottsville. He replaced the town's former attorney, Brad Davidson.