Plum Borough Council Notebook: May Workshop Meeting

Here's a roundup of items discussed at the May 7 Plum Council meeting:

New Municipal Complex

Site preparation for construction on the along Renton Road is underway.

Officials expect to hold a groundbreaking ceremony at the site some time on May 30, according to borough manager Michael Thomas.

Before that is done, however, officials must vote on the following matters at the May 14 regular council meeting:

• Hiring an inspection and testing agency for the municipal center—Officials are expected to hire PA Soil and Rock to test soils, and the slabs, beams, footers and other concrete work at the site for structural integrity. Thomas said there is $65,000 in the budget for that type of work.
• Relocation of gas lines—Currently, some Penneco and Peoples/TWP gas lines run directly through the site where construction will occur. Thomas said the lines must be moved, and the borough already has designs in hand in which the lines have been relocated to safer positions. Officials must reach agreements with the gas companies before moving the gas lines.
• Change orders—Officials are expected to allow borough administration to approve construction change orders of up to $25,000 in order to keep the process moving. Council members said they agree the project must be done in a timely fashion, but they would like to be notified of any change orders before they are approved. Thomas said that is possible, and any changes that aren't time-sensitive will be brought before council and voted on.

Trestle Road Traffic

A traffic engineer has conducted a study on Trestle Road and recommended that speed humps be installed along the road to reduce speeding.

The study was prompted after about speeders on Trestle Road and motorists using it as a short cut.

Thomas said the project could cost $25,000—that would include paving, striping/painting and signage.

Some council members said they were afraid the approval of the work on Trestle Road would set a precedence and spark other residents to want the same traffic-calming measures for their streets.

"If any other resident wants this, we'd have to follow guidelines," Thomas said.

Mary Beth Held, who has spoken about the issue in front of council before, thanked officials for their consideration.

Officials could vote on Monday to solicit bids for the project.

Feral Cats

Shasta Drive resident Lee Hinch said he's having problems with a neighbor who is feeding stray cats.

Hinch said he has "exhausted" his efforts to solve the issue, but nothing has been done.

"I talked to my neighbor, but he thinks they're cute" Hinch said. "They're a danger to the community. i like to garden, but i am not comfortable with having feces on my property. It's a daily problem."

Officials said they would look into the matter.

Parking Problem

The public works department is going to start putting up signs at the parking lot during meeting nights that would prohibit people using the baseball/softball fields across the street from parking in the lot.

One resident said she and her husband, who has a handicap, had to park near the public works facility because all the parking in front of the building was taken up by people at the fields.

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