Dan Vinsko attended the Susquehanna Borough’s Council meeting on August 10th to express his concerns about Franklin Avenue and the way PennDOT is handling the project. Mr. Vinsko said he can’t get an answer from PennDOT on how and when they are going to fix the slide under the road. He said his house sits right on the road and the sidewalks are starting to go. PennDOT informed Mr. Vinsko there is a ninety-eight percent chance his garage will go. If his garage goes, his house will follow, and the people on Erie Avenue will have a problem since it will slide down to the bottom.
Mrs. Vinsko stated she is very concerned, and when it rains she packs up her children and they stay in a motel overnight because she’s afraid what may happen. Both Mr. and Mrs. Vinsko expressed their gratitude to Councilman Roy Williams for all he does to help them.
Councilman Williams said PennDOT is putting rock from the bottom up, but the southbound side is failing. He said it would be approximately three to six weeks before PennDOT has an approved plan, but once they have it they will work around the clock to fix the road. Councilman Williams stated PennDOT put in rebar along the curbside with construction fencing to protect the people, and he would like to see increased patrol in that area, with a zero tolerance for trespassers. Signs are up which state No Pedestrians, and No Trespassing, but people are still going up there to look. Councilman Williams asked Council’s permission to reduce the speed limit on Erie Avenue from twenty-five miles per hour to fifteen miles per hour for the duration of the project. He said this is for the safety of the public since there will be additional traffic with trucks hauling rock into the area. He’s afraid there will be a serious accident because people normally speed through there. Council President Varsik said he would pen a letter to Mayor Hurley regarding the speed limit and increased patrol. President Varsik informed Mr. and Mrs. Vinsko PennDOT engineers are in the process of drawing up the plans for the site.
Council reviewed a sample ordinance for unregistered, unsightly, and unsafe vehicles parked on the streets. Councilman Williams said they have an ordinance for these types of vehicles if they are parked on their property, but not on the street and he would like to see this ordinance passed before they need to plow. Council will have their attorney, Michael Briechle review it.
There is an old railroad tie wall on East Avenue, which has to be repaired or replaced, and the street is crumbling because of a lack of curbing. Councilman Williams would like to put this job out to bid since the cost will be approximately twenty-five to thirty-five thousand dollars. Council members unanimously agreed to advertise for this job.
The North Branch River Festival will be held on August 20th and 21st two days of fun filled river activities. Councilman Dana Rockwell said the first day is a family friendly paddle and the second day will feature kayak races. More information can be found on the Susquehanna web site: susquehannaborough.com.
There have been seventy-six notices of violations, forty-one citations issued, four condemnations, six structures demolished, and three more structures in the process of demolition this year. Councilman Williams reported fines are issued to residents who allow their grass and weeds to get out of control. Once the fines are levied, the people who don’t pay get a warrant issued to them. The problem with this process, as it continues, the grass grows stated Councilman Williams. He said it would be cost effective if the DPW personnel cut the grass instead of hiring a company to do it. Most of the violators are out of town landlords, or vacant lots and they have no intention of maintaining the property, which then becomes a burden on the Borough. Councilperson Barbara Larsen stated it must be an issue in the winter also, with snow removal. Councilman Williams said he would like to have men from the DPW do the work, if they want to, after normal business hours.
President Varsik brought up the subject of reducing the members of Council from a seven member Council to a five member Council. Attorney Briechle went over the procedure that would need to be implemented for them to do this, which would include a five percent or greater number of electors from the borough to sign a petition. President Varsik said the reasoning behind this is it’s getting more difficult to fill positions on the Zoning Hearing Board, and the Codes Appeal board. Council members cannot serve on multiple boards, and the two Council seats that would be eliminated from the board would be able to serve elsewhere. The vote was four to three against this plan.
A resolution for a right-of-way to the Department of Environmental Protection to clean brush and trees along the borough’s right of way was signed by Council.
A Codes Administrator position was discussed at the last meeting and advertised in the newspaper. Council received one resume and the applicant was to be interviewed after the meeting adjourned.
The next meeting will be held on September 14th at 6:00 pm at the Borough Building.