By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
A Decatur business which has taken over the site of the former General Electric plant apparently is causing quite a stir in the neighborhood.
Tug It Trucking has been operating what is essentially a lay-down yard in the Ninth St. lot for a number of months, city officials said. And neighbors are not happy with the situation.
Councilman Matt Dyer raised the issue at the tail-end of Tuesday night’s city council meeting, noting that he had received three calls complaining about the noise and hours of operation at the site.
That sparked a 15-minute discussion.
“Curt (Witte, building/zoning department superintendent) and I have been down there a lot,” Mayor Dan Rickord said. “There are a lot of upset residents there.”
“There have been issues there and they are being addressed,” Witte noted.
Rickord said the company had purchased the land from GE at auction, and had been before Decatur’s Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA), receiving approval for its operation.
According to BZA stipulations, operations are to be limited to between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m., Witte said.
Essentially, “they have beams brought in and ship them out,” the mayor said.
Tug It Trucking, which identifies itself as a “cargo and freight company,” has its Decatur headquarters at the former Barker & Sons Wrecker Service site on S. 13th St.
The Decatur Chamber of Commerce lists Seth Huber of Berne as Tug It’s owner.
FOOTNOTE: Neighborhoods in that area also have to deal with 24/7 train whistles.