TimesLeader.com

May 20
Dalton discusses drainage

Mauri Rapp Abington Journal Correspondent

Dalton residents must maintain any drainage systems located on their properties, according to borough council.

At the council’s May 8 meeting, an ordinance was approved 5 to 1 requiring all property owners within borough limits to “repair, clean, maintain all curbs, gutters, culverts, ditches and driveway gutters or drain facilities.” The ordinance will also require property owners to obtain borough approval prior to installing pipes or drainage facilities in gutter or ditch areas.

Council said the borough’s zoning officer will be responsible for enforcing violations, which could result in a fine not to exceed $600. Councilwoman Lorraine Daniels, the only member voting against the ordinance, was concerned that some residents would not be physically able to maintain their own drainage areas.

Councilman Mickey Ameigh agreed that this concern should be addressed. “As the type of borough that we want to be, that we are, and that we maintain, I think we ought to help,” Ameigh said.

Council President Len Peters said that the ordinance was needed because some property owners’ drainage facilities have corrupted the borough’s storm water management system. He also said the borough had to enforce the ordinance for everyone. “The problem we’re trying to balance is, the ordinances we pass have to apply to everybody,” Peters said. “Where is the line? Where do we go with it?”

At the suggestion of borough Solicitor Frank Bolock, council will consider a separate set of regulations allowing citizens with hardships situations to ask the borough for assistance.

According to council Vice President William Salva, a borough ordinance that limits the size of yard waste picked up through the borough’s Department of Public Works (DPW) recycling program has left residents with larger yard waste that cannot be burned because of the borough’s ordinance. The borough’s DPW will only accept grass clippings and lawn debris measuring no more than two inches in diameter. Salva said the current burn ordinance is in place because burning permits will disqualify the borough from obtaining recycling grants. Council agreed to review the ordinance over the next several months in order to reach a solution.

In other business, council appointed a new sanitation committee to negotiate the borough’s garbage contract, which will expire at the end of this year. The new committee consists of council members William Brandt, Mickey Ameigh and Mark Sujkowski. Dalton currently contracts with Waste Management for garbage pickup.

Sujkowski extended thanks to PennDOT on behalf of the council for the department’s quick response in repairing Main Street under the Routes 6 and 11 bridge last week. “They don’t get to hear that too often, so we wanted to say thank you,” said Sujkowski.