Roaming bears in the city’s neighborhoods were a topic of
concern at the Bradford City Council meeting Tuesday.
Vista Circle resident Brad Mangel said he’s concerned because a
bear was making itself home in his neighborhood at 1:30 in the
afternoon.
“It was a cub, and we weren’t all that concerned about him. It
was more about his mother,” Mangel said. He told council that he
had called Bradford City Police, who came and chased the bear away.
He said he followed up by sending an e-mail to state Rep. Martin
Causer, R-Turtlepoint, asking him to get the state Game Commission
more involved with the local bear problems.
“He notified the Game Commission on our behalf,” Mangel said. He
added that he’s worried for the upcoming school year, when many
children will be in that vicinity for the Bradford Area High and
School Street Elementary schools.
Mayor Tom Riel agreed with Mangel, saying, “It is cumbersome to
get a hold of (the Game Commission). You have to call clear down to
Jersey Shore.
“The bear population is greatly increased. I asked the Game
Commission to make an effort to get them out of here,” Riel said,
adding he had asked for more traps to be brought in to the area,
and for the bears that are captured to be taken farther away.
“It’s getting to the point where something needs to be done,”
Riel said. “It’s not the police’s concern.”
In other business, council approved an extension of
interest-only payments from the Bradford Economic Development
Corp., regarding a loan for the development of the Lafferty Hollow
Industrial Park.
The resolution said that on Jan. 8, 2002, council approved an
Enterprise Zone loan of $150,000 to the BEDC for the purchase of
property for the development of the Industrial Park. The loan was
to have been repaid with interest-only payments for the first five
years with the principal and interest to repaid over the last 10
years from the sale of developed property in the Park.
With next year’s completion of the new access road for the Park,
the BEDC will be able to market three developed lots and then begin
making principal payments on the loan, the resolution reads.
Therefore, council approved extending the interest-only payments
until March 2011.
In other financial matters, council authorized filing a grant
application to the state Department of Environmental Protection for
$71,000 for energy efficiency improvements to the Department of
Public Works building on Holley Avenue. The funds are available
through the federal stimulus program.
The resolution states that the city wants to make improvements
to reduce utility bills, and the estimated cost of the renovations
is $142,000.
The remaining half of the project cost will be paid with
“municipal resources through cash match and in-kind services in the
amount of $71,000,” according to the terms of the resolution.
Council also approved an Intermediary Relending Program loan in
the amount of $34,000 to McCourt Label Cabinet Co. to undertake
parking lot improvements. The loan is with an interest rate of four
percent over five years.
The next council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Aug. 25.
