EMPORIUM — Ongoing ordinance violation issues were a topic of discussion at Monday night’s regular meeting of Emporium Borough Council.
Four properties that have received numerous resident complaints and are considered blighted were referred to code enforcement officer Russ Braun, who is employed by townships in Elk County but works with the borough under contract.
Braun inspected the properties and issued a letter stating the buildings “have to be vacated within fifteen days because the structures are unsafe” for a variety of reasons, including fire code violations and health and safety hazards. The buildings, which are all owned by the same individual and are used as residential rental units, have also been condemned.
“There will be several others we’re going to be doing,” said borough manager Don Reed. “We’re not going to continue to let this go.”
The properties cannot be occupied again until all issues have been remedied. Borough ordinances will now kick in, and the owner can be fined after a certain period of time if work is not begun to fix the identified issues.
In addition, incident reports were filed by Emporium Borough Police, and if lights are seen on in the buildings or neighbors see people entering or exiting the structures, they can be arrested for trespassing.
Eight applications were received for the chief of police position prior to Friday afternoon’s deadline. The personnel committee will set up a time to review the applications and will begin readying for interviews.
Reed brought up to council they should possibly look into phasing out the downtown parking meters once again. Council stated that issue has already been decided, deciding instead to look into the cost of purchasing kiosk-style parking permit issuing machines, rather than continue on with meters.
More information on costs associated with a changeover to kiosks will be assembled ahead of the April board meeting.
A letter was sent from the borough opposing a move by some state legislators that would allow more organizations to gain tax-exempt status, which could further erode the tax base. Reed stated that last year, legislators were looking to decrease the number of institutions that could claim tax exemption, and this move was a surprise because it is the exact opposite of that earlier position. Letters were sent to state senators and representatives opposing the initiative.
Four borough council members will be up for re-election this year: Randy Frey, Pat Garrigan, Ben Newton and president Joe Fragale.
The 2014 Annual Report was received from the Shade Tree Commission. Five new trees were planted this year, seven pruned and seven stumps were removed.
Next year, a number of old trees that have been deemed hazardous will be removed and the stumps will be ground. The Emporium Foundation was thanked for their continuing support.
The cat ordinance was again discussed, with animal control officer George Sowers stating the difficulties in implementing a new ordinance revolve around a mandate not to supersede state laws.
However difficult it has been to pass a new ordinance, the spay and neuter program headed by the SPCA has been instrumental in curbing the feral cat problem within the borough, which has been reported to have abated somewhat.
“We still have a little problem with that, but it’s gotten much better,” Sowers said. “I think we made a difference on the ones we did trap, especially in the Woodland Avenue/West Allegany Avenue area.”
Road projects are moving forward.
A permit has been secured to redirect traffic during work on a storm drain at East Allegany/Pine Street; progress has been made on water problems at the corner of East Allegany and Fourth Street; and an engineer is working on a less costly solution to the Spring Street roadway issues. The adjacent property owner is willing to assist the borough to remedy the problem.
The next borough council meeting will be held at 7 p.m. March 2 at the borough building on North Broad Street.
