EMPORIUM — Emporium Borough employees recently removed a beaver dam constructed inside a six-foot diameter culvert pipe on the western outskirts of town.
The beaver dam had three residents, which were removed from the dam with permission from the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). The dam nearly filled the culvert pipe, and was approximately 30 feet from the pipe exit. An adjoining property owner alerted the borough to the clogged pipe.
Borough Manager Don Reed said that water would definitely have flooded the roadway and surrounding land in the next heavy rainstorm due to the obstruction.
Police Chief Dave Merritt continues to work with Reed on ordinance violations and blighted properties within the borough. The 60-day abeyance period granted by Magisterial District Judge Barry Brown for violations at four borough properties owned by Matthew Grimone expires as of Jan. 17.
The abeyance period was granted to give Grimone an opportunity to fix identified problems at the structures, rental properties located on East Fifth Street Extension, South Broad Street, East Fourth Street and West Fourth Street.
Grimone contacted borough officials to get official instructions following his entrance of a guilty plea to one summary count each of dangerous structures and violation of the construction code for each property. If issues remain unresolved, Grimone could be fined up to $200 per day for each complaint, Merritt stated at the time of the hearings.
Additional action is being pursued against a number of other properties within the borough. Ownership documents have been received by borough officials for two former homes, one located on Fifth Street and one on Fifth Street Extension. Letters that will be marked “first and final notices” will be sent to between seven and ten additional property owners warning them of non-compliance issues.
Borough officials continue to work with the Sylvan Heritage Council to beautify downtown Emporium, and are taking steps to kick-start projects identified in a previously-commissioned feasibility study.
Chamber of Commerce Director Tina Johns-Solak talked about the Walk Works program through the University of Pittsburgh. Emporium was accepted as one of three downtown areas being added to the program this year. A one- to two-mile trail will be identified by local officials. Program staff will then develop a map and signage for the trail, with the only cost to the borough being the labor to install the signs.
Johns-Solak said that planners would like the trail to wind through the church district, past the courthouse and schools, along the rail trail and near other landmarks.
Borough council’s representative on the Cameron County Ambulance Board (CCAS) will step down after the annual meeting scheduled for February, and encouraged another board member to fill the position.
Councilman Randy Frey has served on the CCAS board for the past three years, and board members seemed in agreement that a representative would be best chosen from amongst them.
CCAS and other ambulance services across the state have struggled of late to meet their financial obligations due to the way some insurance companies reimburse for services and other factors. It is also difficult at times to find properly-trained and certified personnel, costing local ambulance services additional money through overtime and related costs. Training and equipment is expensive, also, and long hours and hazardous conditions turn many individuals away from this type of employment.
The borough and other municipalities are now subsidizing CCAS’s existence in order to ensure local, reliable emergency transportation for residents. However, the funding gap was not as large this year as originally anticipated, which shows promise for future efforts to cut costs and fill in revenue with grants and other available funding assistance.
The next council meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Feb. 6 at the borough building on North Broad Street.
