The Pullman Town-Gown Collaborative, a partnership between the city of Pullman and WSU, discussed replacing the Highway 270 sign, parking infractions at Ferdinand’s and the cleanliness of College Hill on Wednesday morning.

Mayor Glenn Johnson announced a new sign will be placed on June 5, to replace the old Highway 270 sign. The new sign will show Davis Way as well as Wawawai Road and Grand Avenue as possible routes to enter and exit the town. The idea is to divert some of the traffic away from Davis Way, especially during football weekends, Johnson said.

Johnson also inquired into what he deemed as unnecessary parking issues.

“I’ve seen it so many times when people try to go to Ferdinand’s… the parking enforcement officials ready to take them at a moment’s notice,” Johnson said. “Is there any way they can chalk? … It seems to me like it’s an anti-consumer type of operation.”

Chalking is a practice of officials marking a potential car for a parking ticket, but giving the owner an additional allotted time prior to the ticket being served. In the meeting, Johnson suggested a 30-minute time window for the owner to return.

There were no specifics during the meeting whether this potential idea could be enacted as John Shaheen, director of WSU Transportation Services, said he would look into the matter at a later date. Currently, there is one small hourly-pay parking lot in front of Ferdinand’s, with an additional Green 1 Lot on Ferdinand’s Lane.

The cleanliness of College Hill was another matter of discussion for the collaborative, as Helene Hopkins, the owner of Helene’s Property Place, said she has been hired in the past by sororities to take care of their maintenance and plowing services.

“They hire me, and I take care of that kind of stuff,” Hopkins said. “People are worried about the front yard, I’m worried about the backyard [alleyways].”

The Coug owner Bob Cady suggested a new approach to the problem. He said most sororities acknowledge that female members are not going to mow the lawn, and they hire services to maintain landscaping.

“Most fraternity alumni boards still believe that their guys are still out there doing it even though they’re not. So if you have the opportunity to pressure a fraternity alumni board… do a lasting solution, talk to [them].”

The Town-Gown project is the fulfillment of an idea conceived by WSU President Kirk Schultz and Johnson to strengthen the bonds holding the town and college together. The group’s mission is to identity and improve problem areas within the community.