by Geoff Fox
Hancock Mayor Ralph Salvagno has sent a letter to officials with the Washington County 911 Initiative stating no changes have been approved as of March 8.
The county has set March 16 as the effective date for the address changes for the new NG911 system.
In the letter, Salvagno said the town would be willing to review any proposed changes and a summary of citizen comments that the county had received.
However he doesn’t anticipate moving forward without citizen agreement of evidence-based need.
The move to rename the streets within town limits seemed “heavy handed” and the county just moving forward, the mayor said.
Salvagno said the letter is a notification to the county they don’t have the authority to change the street names in a municipality.
The actual letter was mailed to county with a copy emailed to media with Salvagno’s signature.
County officials held a public meeting in Hancock on February 25 to talk with residents about the propose road name changes and house number corrections. Dozens of residents would be affected by the changes, which are proposed as a way to correct county maps before a new 911 system is implemented.
