Parking on the Square, fire prevention and gateway adoption were discussed at yesterday’s Oxford Board of Aldermen meeting.

The Board of Aldermen held its first monthly meeting last night to tackle Oxford’s day-to-day business and long-term efforts.

On the laundry list of issues for the board were parking concerns for the Square, the first reading of an ordinance against the use of pyrotechnics and a new program to keep gateways into the city clean.

The discussion over downtown parking matters continued with the first reading of an ordinance to improve bus parking for entertainment venues. City officials believe that this will cut down on the parking issues during big entertainment events.

New bus loading zones are being discussed for 10th Street and 11th Street behind The Lyric. A zone by Proud Larry’s on Harrison Street was being considered but was removed due to limited space and safety concerns.

“We will administratively drop Harrison but will continue to look at the others to decide what would work best,” Mayor Pat Patterson said.

The board also discussed a new fire protection and prevention ordinance regarding the use of indoor pyrotechnics. This comes as a response to the Kiss nightclub fire in Brazil in January.

The ordinance will make the use of certain pyrotechnics illegal in Oxford, specifically the types similar to those involved in the January fire.

“Similar legislation was made after a Rhode Island club fire about a decade ago, and this will be a lot like that,” Oxford building official Randy Barber said.

The board also quickly adopted a new ordinance called Adopt-A-Gateway that will allow groups to adopt entrance roads to the city. The groups that adopt the gateways will be tasked with the responsibility of keeping each of the entrances clean and litter-free.

“Overall I think it’s a good new idea, and I’m always glad to see those come through,” Patterson said.

Other items addressed in the meeting included a presentation by Volunteer Oxford, a new construction noise ordinance and the Transportation Enhancement project for adding a sidewalk from Sisk Avenue near Ridgewood Manor to near Ed Perry Boulevard, also including a portion of the interchange ramps of Highway 7.