North Pole City Council adopts ordinance limiting roundabout fundraising

The North Pole City Council approved an ordinance in a 5-1 vote that places limits on soliciting money from vehicles at sidewalks, roundabouts and medians.

The ordinance was sponsored by Mayor Larry Terch, with support from the North Pole police and fire chiefs. The ordinance was primarily focused on safety issues stemming from a growing number of fundraisers similar to the Fill the Boot or Fill the Jersey campaigns, in which donation-seekers approach cars stopped at red lights or stop signs.

Terch, along with Police Chief Jed Smith and Fire Chief Chad Henekein, has argued that those events impede traffic flow, and could cause traffic collisions and injure people.

“As a city, we have a responsibility to take reasonable steps to the best we can to ensure safety,” Smith said. “My concern