Olympian Village officials have closed the town’s Althea road to public traffic, at least temporarily.
The road could be reopened at some point, said Mayor Adrianne Hulvey.
“It’s a border road on the edge of Olympian Village,” she said. “It was closed for safety concerns. It was closed at the top.”
Hulvey said first responders may use the road if there’s an emergency.
“There are some rubber pylons that can be driven over by a firetruck or a police car if there’s a need,” she said.
Hulvey said the Olympian Village Board of Aldermen voted unanimously June 8 to close the road.
“The aldermen had traffic concerns – speeding,” she said. “People were speeding, doing careless and imprudent driving and running the stop sign.
Hulvey said the board also closed the road due to the cost of maintaining it and will no longer maintain it, at least for now.
Representatives from the ambulance and fire districts that serve the area said they have no problem with the decision to close the road.
“The (Althea) closure does not affect us,” Joachim-Plattin Ambulance District Administrator Curtis Stueve said.
Hematite Fire Protection Chief Robert Hipes Jr. agreed. “We can go through the rubber traffic pylons,” he said.
Hulvey said the city has not had its own police force for years and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office does not regularly patrol the city, only responding to the village for emergency calls.
So, city officials are considering the possibility of contracting with the Sheriff’s Office for some form of additional policing, she said.
“We do need patrols for the safety of our residents,” Hulvey said. “We will go with the Sheriff’s Office. We need to decide if we’ll go with patrols or to have a deputy assigned to Olympian Village. The board will make the decision.”
If an agreement can be reached with the Sheriff’s Office and regular patrols begin, Olympian Village officials likely will reopen Althea, Hulvey said.
The Olympian Village board was scheduled to discuss contracting with the Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday, after the Leader’s deadline.