The city of Dearborn on Monday night created a new board to serve the city. Mayor Frank Downing, Jr. appointed five members to sit on the planning and zoning board.
The mayor appointed Luke Thies, Jamie Lewis, Jeremy Buckler, DJ Hoffman, and Zach Hershley to serve on the board.
The new planning and zoning board will approve plats of land and also issue building permits for new construction. Another part of the board’s job is to ensure building codes are followed by residents of Dearborn.
Aldermen discussed several other items at the meeting:
The board received a report from the public works department stating they had replaced water meters hit by lawnmowers, cleaned out sewer lines, and discussed the continuing problems with the power company and residents losing power six to eight times during the month of May.
Residents discussed some issues with the recently re-created Community Betterment Committee. Concerns raised ranged from how the committee should be organized to whether they qualified for the tax-exempt status for purchases.
The committee organizes events in the city, such as cruise night, music in the park, and Christmas in Dearborn.
A long-standing structure was recently torn down in Dearborn. The old grain silo along Maple Street was torn down and the city is in the process of burning the structure. The city is currently burning the structure at the site rather than dumping the debris as fill.
The mayor thanked all of the volunteers who helped with the recent clean-up day in Dearborn. Volunteers cleared debris from yards, mowed grass, and generally cleaned up the outside of houses.

