“Restore my faith in a small town” said Cranston Dean, pleading with the Mayor and Council to correct a health, safety and esthetic problem on Second Avenue that has existed for three or more years. Business
Cranston was one of five Second Avenue residents appearing at last week’s council meeting, also explaining more would be there if they were able in order to ask the governing body why the situation has been able to exist without so much as a warning from code or building officials. No warnings have even been issued to the property owner, one resident said, or if they were, that information was not included in the OPRA information neighbors received in response to a request earlier.
The property, overgrown with weeds, with boats, piles of trash and dirt on the vacant lot, and a broken sidewalk making it impassable for pedestrians, is the rear vacant land of a First Avenue property owner. The property’s frontage, with both commercial and residential tenants, is in a commercial zone; the rear of the property extends to Second Avenue and is in a residential zone.
Neighbors up and down the Second street side of the property said the property owner, while he conducts a profitable business for himself, has declined to do anything about the rear of the property, preventing neighbors from walking on sidewalks to see other, creating an unsightly appearance in an area of well-kept homes, and damaging a neighborhood known for its friendliness, concern, and genuine affections for each other.
Two neighbors who spoke at the meeting noted Second Avenue is probably the most ‘neighborly’ street anywhere, since all the neighbors look out for each other, chat every day, walk to each other’s homes, and are always friendly . The broken sidewalks make it difficult for this to continue they said, again pleading for help for an unsightly condition that has lasted for too long.
Mayor Lori Hohenleitner said she has visited the site, is aware of the situation and wants to help the residents,. However, she also found excuses including “so much rain” recently, the time limit of the busy code enforcement officer, and a prior borough administrator who did not pay the same attention to details as Caleb Stratton, the administrator for the past six months.
Stratton conceded overseeing the code enforcement officer is his responsibility and told the neighbors the problems could have been addressed earlier by him had their complaints been brought up at a meeting.
The commercial property owner filed for permits to build a parking lot in his vacant spot, and the borough received a bond from him with which the borough could have the work done “at some point” using the funds from the bond posted. However, there appears to be no time frame for having the lot work done, prompting adjacent neighbor Alan Dean to ask if a date could not be set aside rather than “at some point.” Dean suggested the borough at least clean up the area if nothing else, and noted other neighbors are in agreement with those present at the meeting, He was surprised, he said, that the borough did not receive any more complaints inasmuch as there were one in the OPRA records. Hohenleitner said she would “look into that.” Stratton also said he had “a good handle” on the situation.
Alan Dean also asked that when the broken sidewalk is repaired, it be done with concrete, not a tar patchwork solution as he has seen in other areas in town.
The mayor advised residents to come back and keep them informed at the next meeting if improvements have not been started within two weeks.
