The Panama Village Board discussed the possibility of getting signs for the village parking lot to prohibit overnight parking. P-J photo by Sara Holthouse

PANAMA — The Panama Village Board is looking into signs to not allow overnight parking in village parking lots after a tenant in the apartment above the village offices parked a car in a lot and now cannot find it.

The board discussed this issue during the September board meeting. Mayor William Schneider said the tenant had parked the car in the lot with the intention of disposing of it and had taken the plates off of it, also arranging for pick up, when it disappeared.

“There’s been a police report filed and we’re still waiting to see if someone claims to have taken it,” Schneider said.

There was also a vehicle left in a village parking lot last year, and Schneider said this is something totally different from that incident. This has brought up something for the board to think about, Schneider said, if it would be worth it to get some sort of sign that says no overnight parking for non-residents. Cars would be towed at the owners’ expense.

“I just didn’t want it to start becoming a dumping ground for people looking to dispose or hide a car,” Schneider said.

Schneider said he has seen the same problem in Waterford at the Historical Society owned lot, with people leaving cars and work trucks there. Additionally, he said people will leave work trucks there all weekend, leaving less room for paying customers as it is also a business parking lot, with a restaurant also running out of the same area.

“So, it’s not a unique problem to just Panama but I don’t want it to be a continued problem,” Schneider said.

For the current vehicle that had been left and is now gone, Schneider said law enforcement said they had not had it towed and he is still waiting to hear back from others as to if they know anything about it.