AJ News

By Gerard Hetman ghetman@theabingtonjournal.com

CLARKS SUMMIT - Following the recent verdict jury decision in Lackawanna County Court which awarded more than $2.3 million in damages, plus interest, to property owner Peter Amato and land developer Michael Noto in the Grandview Street court case, the situation has become a topic of conversation and debate among residents of Clarks Summit.

Nowhere was that better reflected than at the Wednesday, Oct. 7, meeting of Clarks Summit Borough Council, the firstsession since the verdict in the case was handed down on Sept. 30.

In the verdict, the borough will be held responsible for paying damages for losses related to the borough’s closure of Grandview Street in November 2003. The figure does not include interest that is also owed as part of the compensation.

Noto and Amato originally filed suit against Clarks Summit Borough in November 2003, after the borough closed a section of Grandview Street that provided access to property owned by Amato. Located in South Abington Township, the property was set to be developed into a housing development, with Grandview Street providing the only access into the property at the time. After the closure, Amato and Noto developed a section of Country Club Road in South Abington Township to provide access.

With the Wednesday meeting held in the large room outside of the regular council chambers, a number of borough residents took the occasion to voice their opinion on the case. Residents took to the podium and demanded answers on the best course of action.

Borough officials were quick to point out that while they are reviewing numerous options, no firm course of action has been decided. However, the borough plans to file a motion for a new trial in Lackawanna County Court, with solicitor Ernest Preate, Jr., claiming that he and the borough legal team were not allowed to show a sizeable amount of evidence during the recent proceedings. This, they claim, prevented them from achieving the best outcome for borough residents in the case.

“There is a very, very valid reason for a new trial,” Preate said. “We have a large amount of evidence that we were not allowed to show.”

During the public comment section of the meeting, borough residents showcased the divide that exists over the future direction of the Grandview Street issue. While several residents expressed support for the borough to continue fighting in court, others pushed for a financial settlement. Those in favor of the settlement expressed concern about the mounting financial debt the case is causing, including interest on the award itself, as well as legal fees associated with the case.

In other business, council tabled a safety committee vote that would prohibit left turns from Lansdowne Street onto State Street, while also voting down a proposal to change the timing patters on a borough-owned traffic signal at the intersection of Grove Street and the Morgan Highway. The next scheduled meeting of Clarks Summit Borough Council is set for Wednesday, Nov.4, at the Clarks Summit Borough Building.