McADOO — The borough will be working on enforcing its zoning laws at its monthly council meeting this week.
At a work session Tuesday, Councilwoman Marion DeBalko said the council needs to meet with borough workers to discuss problems that haven’t been addressed.
Some of these include buildings that are being constructed without reviewing the rules and making sure they are up to code in terms of condition.
“We cannot have people changing half-a-doubles to apartment buildings and putting handicapped ramps in without any sanctions by us or the state,” DeBalko said.
To address this, the borough will look into hiring someone as its own middleman to differentiate what rules need to be addressed locally or with the state. Borough officials also are making sure that somebody is accessible to residents who are applying for permits.
The borough currently works under what’s called the Uniform Construction Code, which states that the borough and the state will issue their own permits to allow a resident to build.
But DeBalko stressed that it hasn’t been differentiated which permit is needed to allow a resident to build.
“You can’t let one of our workers say to someone who is doing a major project ‘here’s a permit’ and not check up on whether that permit is good enough for them to continue with their project,” she said. “When I talked to different officials about handicapped ramps, they told me that they never just go through the borough but rather the state.”
DeBalko added that she didn’t want her concerns to sound like she wasn’t giving current workers credit, but rather to let the council consider hiring additional workers to help them.
Council Secretary Diane Minneci said the most important thing to do is to hire a zoning officer who is in the borough every day to help residents who want to improve McAdoo by developing new business.
“All I do is call and email ... workers so they can contact people who are looking to build businesses to improve our town,” Minneci said.
DeBalko also raised concerns about properties that are deteriorating.
“You might as well say that Kennedy Drive is done with,” she said. “Buildings are boarded up and there are many other problems that we need to fix to make sure that this town is clean.”
The council reminded DeBalko that a zoning officer issues permits for a business to open and does not address specific items of code.
Police, fire
The council will revise the workers’ compensation policy for residents and firefighters since Tresckow Fire Company legally merged with the McAdoo and Keystone fire companies.
McAdoo will take care of its own clients, including residents in the borough and Kline Township, and add another 1,220 residents on its insurance policy along with approximately 15 firefighters.
The council has to give Banks Township the percentage and let them go through the current policy. However, after time, a new policy will eventually be put into place.
Council President John Shigo said it has worked out great during the last couple of years with Kline Township.
“We will see what the figures come out to be but let me just say, it’s been very easy when it comes to giving Kline Township what they owe, their percentage. McAdoo borough gets the money, and it encourages the communities to work together,” he said.
Pets, weather
Denise Giranda, a McAdoo resident and a volunteer at Tracey’s Hope Dog Rescue, asked the council to consider passing an ordinance requiring pet owners to bring their animals indoors in extremely warm temperatures that could cause an animal’s brain to swell or extreme cold when a dog can suffer hypothermia.
According to Giranda, a law in Luzerne County states that animals cannot be tied outside for more than 30 minutes during temperatures of 98 degrees in the summer or 26 degrees in the winter.
She added that right now under Pennsylvania law, owners are only required to have a shelter as well as food for their pets but as long as they have those items, nothing else can be done.
“The problem with the current state law is that it protects the owner and not the pet,” Giranda said. “We are starting with McAdoo in Schuylkill County because I am a resident and there are many things going on behind closed doors that I cannot say right now for certain reasons.”
Minneci said it would have to be talked about among the council because there would be a fine involved but “it could be a good way to recoup money that the borough might owe.”
Questions were raised by the council over whether the ordinance would hold up due to what is already outlined in the current state law. However, Giranda urged the council to consider the ordinance, saying that at the very least it brings attention to the issue.
“If residents know that they have the possibility of getting a fine, they will be more cautious on what they do,” she said. “It’s also a great way to educate the public and get this message heard.”
Other business
The council will also consider a number of other items at this week’s meeting:
• Voting on whether the hourly rate should change to $10 for new borough employees.
• Amending a handicap parking ordinance for individuals who need a designated spot in front of their home. Right now the ordinance goes by the individual person’s name, but council will vote on amending the ordinance to assigning the person a number in place of their name in case that person moves.
• Looking into other bids to fix the garage door. The current bid from High Mountain Hardware is $3,626.26, which is $1,100 over the budgeted amount.
• Reviewing the cost of maintenance for police vehicles.