MAHANOY PLANE — The Gilberton Borough Council amended an ordinance at Thursday’s meeting to pass along any charges the borough incurs when a water shut-off is required for sewage account delinquents.
Ordinance 2006-2 gives the borough the authority to define and regulate connections to the public water system, which in most of the borough is the Mahanoy Township Authority.
Attorney Paul Domalakes attended the meeting in place of borough solicitor Karen Domalakes to present the ordinance amendment for adoption, which was in a 3-0 vote.
When the borough deems it necessary to shut off water service to a property that has a large delinquent sewer account, the borough contacts the MTA to have its employees terminate the service. The cost for the water shut-off is passed to the borough, and if the water service is off for about a year, the borough is also responsible for a portion of the authority’s loss of revenue. The amended ordinance now passes along all fees and charges to the customer.
The amendment in section 2.4 now reads:
“The owner of any improved property, who because their water or sewer charges are delinquent, has had a shut-off mechanism installed or work necessary to install or remove the shut-off mechanism on their property, shall be responsible for the costs of such work, including, but not limited to, the water shut-off fees and loss of revenue charge imposed by the authority. These fees must be paid to the authority or reimbursed to the borough prior to reconnection.”
In other business, the borough council accepted the low bid from Dudash Pipeline Co. Inc., Pottsville, to demolish and remove a vacant, dilapidated house at 426 Main St., which is located in the Gilberton section of the borough. Two bids were received for the project with two options: Only the demolition of the building or demolition and removal of debris.
Dudash bid $5,471 for demolition and $12,462 for demolition/removal. The borough council opted for the second bid. The work is expected to begin in about a month.
Councilman Mark S. Keirsey, who attended a two-day training session in May to get his maintenance certification for dirt, gravel and low-volume roads, recently took two road contractors to several streets to get cost estimates for the borough to submit an application for a state grant for road maintenance and repair.
The U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Pennsylvania State University’s Center for Dirt and Gravel Roads have established a simple protocol to help road managers and maintenance practitioners to carefully assess road conditions, identify problems, determine cause and select the appropriate environmentally sensitive practices that fit the site conditions.
Keirsey took the contractors to six locations, with four sites found to be eligible for grant funding:
• 2400-2500 blocks of Main Street
• 2600 block of Main Street
• The curve along Draper Street into the Long Row section of the borough
• The curve on Church Street
Once calculated, the estimates will guide the borough on the grant application and the decision of what the borough can afford depending on the amount of a grant, assuming it is awarded to Gilberton.
The borough council appointed Lloyd George Jr., Gilberton, as code enforcement officer. The salary is $10 per hour as needed. The vote was 2-0 with one abstention by Councilman Lloyd George Sr., the new officer’s father.
Mayor Mary Lou Hannon announced the Memorial Day program will be held at noon today at the Maizeville Veterans Memorial.
Hannon also announced that the summer lunch program will begin June 7 and end Aug. 26. Lunches will be served at the community parks in the Gilberton and Mahanoy Plane sections of the borough.