Montoursville Borough acts on weed maintenance
Montoursville Borough Council Monday night agreed to get tougher on downtown property owners who fail to maintain weeds from growing around their store fronts and businesses.
They will now face shorter timeframes for cutting or spraying the weeds.
The issue was raised at Monday night’s council meeting by Councilman Mark Tillson who complained that weeds as high as two-and-half feet grew in areas of Broad Street last summer.
Borough officials noted that the problem has been addressed in the past with letters of warning sent to violators.
But many property owners simply ignore the letters or wait too long to address the problem.
“What we’ve done in the past hasn’t worked,” Tillson said, noting that the problem seems to exist mostly in the 200 or 300 block of Broad Street.
After some discussion, it was agreed to continue with the process of sending warning letters to violators, but giving them just five days to remedy the problem.
If the issue is not addressed, the borough can choose to take care of the problem and bill the property owner for the weed removal.
In other action, council approved the hiring of Brandy Perchinski as a part-time police officer.
She is presently employed part-time as an officer with Muncy Borough Police.
Council took no action on quotes for mowing borough property.
Dad’s Landscaping submitted the low bid of $1,263 per mow for the work. The second lowest bid at $1,715 was submitted by Ken’s Lawn Care, which performed the work last summer.
After some discussion, it was agreed that further information was needed before deciding which business to hire.
A one-year contract with Constellation Energy for electricity was approved by council.
Council approved the purchase of a trailer used for hauling equipment and cameras for sewer line surveillance at a cost of $7,408.
Council approved an ordinance amending regulations for fireworks that adheres to state laws.
The ordinance, which council approved for advertisement last month, prohibits the use of fireworks within 150 feet of a structure or on public property.
Council agreed to build a break room for borough maintenance workers. Borough officials noted that the employees have no place of their own indoors to eat lunch.
The work, expected to cost about $6,700, will be done by borough employees.
Councilwoman Tina Kline announced during the meeting she is not running for re-election to council.
Her term of office ends this year.
She referred to her time on council as “very rewarding” and urged other residents to consider running for public office.
Council met in executive session following the regular meeting to discuss legal matters.