Ordinance to Prohibit Body Art Establishments not Passed

On Sept. 8, the Hebron City Council chose not to pass an ordinance that would prohibit body art establishments in Hebron.

The council was split in its decision: Representatives Kurk Wiedel, Robert Dodes and Larry Fangmeier voted yes to prohibit such establishments while Doug Huber, Rich Koch and Jay Bauer voted no.

“I got seven-to-one telephone calls from business owners saying they didn’t want this type of establishment in this town,” said Wiedel during the discussion. “I’ve got to vote the way public wants me to vote.”

Councilman Jay Bauer disagreed with the decision to disallow a new business to come to town, regardless of whether it was a “tattoo parlor” or not. “What’s wrong with a new business coming to town?” said Bauer. “I’m not opposed to it.”

Mayor Shane Day broke the tie by voting no to the prohibition.

According to Hebron city attorney Joe Murray, Deshler also did not pass the ordinance.

Last Tuesday, this newspaper opened the topic up for discussion on its Facebook page receiving several statements in agreement with the Council.

“We should be promoting small businesses and filling up storefronts,” commented Melissa Wright.

“Tattoos are pretty much mainstream these days, so why not?” said Jackie Childers.

Others were not so supportive of the decision, however, when last week a petition was circulated around Hebron calling for a special meeting with the council. The petition called for this meeting for citizens to express their concerns, review Nebraska state laws concerning body art establishments and re-vote on the proposed ordinance.

The meeting will take place Wednesday, Sept. 17 at 6 p.m. at the city office.