City council tonight approved a traffic amendment to allow two-hour parking signs be placed on Ninth Street between Hamilton and Washington streets.

The action comes after St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, which is located at the corner of Ninth and Hamilton, requested two-hour parking on both sides of Ninth Street between Hamilton and Washington to provide parking for elderly members of the church that attend morning mass.

Major Tommy Hathaway of the Roanoke Rapids Police Department told council the school system has no problem with the request. He also said the church conducts business every day. He said following the meeting there are plenty of parking options for students.

Police Chief Jeff Hinton wrote in a memo to City Manager Joseph Scherer that he and Public Works Director Larry Chalker looked at the parking on East Ninth Street from Hamilton to Washington.

The church, Hinton wrote, has mass every morning and its elderly members have nowhere to park. “I have talked with School Resource Officer Rex Stainback who stated he does not see any problem for the students nor the school if parking is restricted on the part of Ninth Street in question.”

In another matter tonight the longtime tenants of Hodgestown Daycare have agreed to buy the property on Wyche Street from the city for $125,000.

City council approved a resolution authorizing an upset bid for surplus property.

Ray and Dena Ramsey submitted an offer to buy the building from the city on February 1, according to papers contained in the agenda packet. The letter notes the money will be paid buy a cashier’s check at closing on, or before, June 30.

Assistant Parks and Recreation Director Kelly Manning said the purchase would have no impact on Martin Luther King Jr. Park.

Councilman Carl Ferebee, acting as mayor pro tem in the absence of Mayor Emery Doughtie, said the Ramseys plan to continue running the property as a daycare facility. “They have done a really good job providing for the community. I’m glad they’re continuing to provide the service for the community.”

The building has been leased as a daycare facility at least between the 1970s or 1980s, city officials said.

Council also tonight, after about an hour in closed session, took no action on matters related to the former Riversedge Subdivision.

City Attorney Gilbert Chichester the city will call a special meeting next week to continue discussion of the matter. He said discussion centers on getting the former developers of the project to finish the work the began.