Employees working the night shift at Parker Hannifin won't have to worry about slipping on an icy parking lot next winter.

The McCook City Council approved Monday night at its regular meeting a special exception sought by Parker Hannifin, the rubber hose manufacturing plant on South Street. The special exception was needed for Parker to construct a new employee parking lot across the street from the plant.

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Parker plans to purchase five lots across the street and develop the land into a parking lot with 74 places. It would then close off the north parking lot, that becomes icy in the winter.

The district is zoned residential medium density mobile home and a parking lot is allowed with a special exception. The general area is a mix of industrial, small commercial and residential, with Barnett Park to the south.

The new lot is needed for employee parking as the north parking lot, behind the plant, is shaded most of the winter by the building and ice has become a problem, said Bruce Bair of Parker.

Applying ice melt doesn't improve the situation as the ground slopes slightly and new puddles form that eventually re-freeze, he said.

A new parking lot would solve this problem, especially for aging employees and those who get off at 7 a.m. after working the night shift.

Bair added that Parker Hannifin also plans to "green" up the main building with grass and landscaping.

The special exception came with the contingent that only Parker Hannifin purchase the five lots and not another entity; to work with the city engineer in designing the lot so water doesn't drain into Barnett Park, the site of a former landfill; and that the property be improved as stated in their request.