Mayor's reserved parking space questioned

By TOM RUE

MONTICELLO - Some observers call a reserved parking sign with Monticello mayor James F. Kenny's name on it, posted on the outside of Village Hall, adjacent to the police station, a campaign sign.

Kenny said he's mystified as to how the sign got there. But the fact that non-emergency parking is banned there wont stop him.

In 1994, the village outlawed non-emergency parking on the east side of Pleasant Street between Broadway and Hammond Street. Traffic is heavy, and parking there requires placing the car in reverse. Kenny regularly parks his black Cadillac or van in the spot. Both vehicles lack emergency indicators to warn oncoming traffic. Kenny's funeral home is across the street. The nearest village lot is less than 100 yards away.

Kenny claimed he had "no idea" who directed the sign with his name on it be placed there. "It just appeared there one day," he claimed, adding that it was temporarily removed during last spring's fireman's parade, and then it reappeared.

A local law adopted in 1994 bans parking "at all times" on village-owned premises on Pleasant Street between Hammond Street and Broadway, exempting only "official police vehicles and other emergency vehicles."

Outgoing manager George Panchyshyn admitted he authorized the sign, but he didn't consider the potential liability of doing so. "It's something we should be concerned about and we'd better look into it," Panchyshyn said, though he added that "the position of mayor automatically makes him [Kenny] some type of a police official."

Deputy mayor Gary Sommers called the practice "a safety hazard," adding that said he also would ask with the village's insurance carrier whether Kenny's personal or business vehicles would be covered if Kenny caused an accident by backing into or out of traffic from the reserved spot.

As mayor, Kenny may claim certain police powers, but the vehicles he parks are clearly not official. Observers question the liability incurred by the village as a result of the unlawful reserved parking spot.
In order to amend the law, the board could hold a public hearing and gather testimony concerning the safety of backing into one of Monticello's busiest streets.

The position of the mayor's spot requires that anyone parking there to put their vehicle in reverse while either entering or leaving. Kenny drives a personal car, and vehicles owned by the funeral business he owns, each lacking emergency flashers to warn oncoming traffic. Panchyshyn said he has also parked in the spot, usually at night.

Joanne Wasserman of NIA Insurance in Monticello, which manages the village's automobile liability policy, declined to comment, but added that she could "give them some guidance" if contacted by village officials. She said specific questions about village liability could only be answered by Ranger Insurance Co. of Houston, Texas, which writes the village's automobile liability insurance.

In response to a request under the Freedom of Information Law, a purchase order for the sign revealed a $35 payment to Keller Sign Co. was authorized on October 15, by treasurer Robin Seward and Panchyshyn. "There is no document available showing by whose order and by what authority a certain sign was made and affixed to Village Hall," clerk Edith Schop wrote in response to the FOIL request.

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