The Bradford Township Supervisors voted unanimously on Monday night to make changes to current ordinances in order to make it easier to enforce coding violations.
The vote will streamline the enforcement of nuisance abatement, by removing the language that necessitates a hearing before the township supervisors, and that changes the way that fines are enforced. Now, fines are broken down into three different tiers of penalties based on the number of prior convictions for code violations. Those found in violation would face a fine between $250 to $1,000 for a first offense; $500 to $1,000 for a second offense; and $750 to $1,000 for a third offense.
The changes allow code enforcement to deal with residents who may store personal property that could be considered dangerous — as in equipment with broken glass, or that could pose a threat, or harbor vermin.
As the supervisors prepared to make a motion, Bradford Township resident Rocco Camas expressed concern about his plow truck.
“It’s a vehicle that I use to maintain my property,” Camas said, explaining that it wasn’t used for driving up and down the street. He expressed concern that the ordinance changes would put him in violation.
Supervisor Jim Erwin told Camas, “This ordinance isn’t designed to go after you. It’s designed to deal with people that have junk cars and equipment on their property. Not people who are using a vehicle to maintain their property.”
Gayle Bauer explained, “We’ve got more important violations to go after.”
In other news, Erwin announced to the public that the Lang Maid Lane bridge project is complete, and ahead of schedule.
“The guys working on it have done a great job, and we’re hoping to get a reimbursement of 80 percent of the project.”
Camas mentioned during the public comment portion that he was concerned about the steel grating presenting an obstacle for disabled pedestrians. “If a man is walking with a cane, it’s almost impossible to walk across it,” he said.
Erwin told Camas they are aware of that issue, and a lady expressed concerns about walking her dog. The dog did not want to walk across the steel grating, and there were concerns about wheelchair accessibility as well.
“We’re looking into some options, maybe putting a steel plate over part of the grating for that purpose,” explained Erwin.
Bauer said that whatever changes will be made have to be up to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s specifications so they are still eligible for a reimbursement.
Bids were also opened at the meeting for what the supervisors referred to as “anti-skid” — sand used for the roadways during the winter. Several bids were opened, and the trio moved to award the bid to IA Construction at a rate of $8 per ton, delivered to the township.
