Politics & Government

Verona Council Notebook: December Workshop Meeting

River ramp, parking and blighted properties were among the items discussed at the Dec. 13 meeting.

Here's a roundup of items discussed at the Dec. 13 Verona Council workshop meeting.

Blighted Properties

Now that Verona Borough officials have , they're going to act on them.

Councilwoman Rhoda Gemellas-Worf said officials currently are looking at taking action against the owners of six blighted properties in the borough.

"In January, we're going to be very diligent in addressing vacant homes," she said. "Hopefully we can get them back on the tax records."

Gemellas-Worf and Mayor Dave Ricupero said they are happy with the code enforcement and building inspector's job in the borough.

"You can tell a difference in Verona," she said. "We've professionalized it."

Ricupero agreed.

"You need to keep doing that to clean the town up," he said.

Officials also are looking into signage that would be placed at vacant properties, informing neighbors that borough officials are aware of the situation and working on it.

Handicap Ramp

Officials are looking into installing an ADA-accessible river ramp as part of a at Riverbank Park.

Borough engineer Larry Seiler said the ramp would be adjacent to the steps currently in place there.

Councilman Tony Futules said he's skeptical about having a handicap-accessible ramp there because of liability. He said the borough used to have a ramp in place but it was filled in after a little boy drowned.

Gemellas-Worf said the ramp could act as a kayak launch that would attract people to Verona.

"The river is our main asset," she said.

Officials will continue to look into the matter.

Public Parking

Officials are looking into putting up signs leading visitors to the public parking lots on East Railroad Avenue.

Gemellas-Worf said she has spoken with people who say there isn't enough parking on Allegheny River Boulevard and they don't know about the public parking just blocks away.

She said installing signs that lead people to the parking lots might make them more inclined to visit the business district.

Backhoe Tires

Councilman Dom Conte said the borough's backhoe will be needing new tires soon, so officials should be prepared.

"We will hold off as much as we can," he said.

Street Sweeping

Ricupero said streets won't be sweeped from Dec. 19 to Jan. 3, so residents don't have to worry about parking tickets for a few weeks.


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