CLEARFIELD – At last night’s borough committee meeting, Clearfield Fire Chief Todd Kling gave praise to the community’s emergency response team.
He reported that 30 borough firefighters reported for the recent fire at the Clearfield Bowling Lanes on West Second Avenue, Clearfield. Kling said the firefighters’ actions kept the fire damage limited. He noted the department was assisted by borough police and by Lawrence Township Fire Department, but that Clearfield Fire Department handled the fire. He said he commends their local emergency services team.
Borough Operations Manager Leslie Stott said she visited the site after the fire. She commended the firefighters for disturbing as little as possible to do their job.
Code Enforcement Officer Larry Mack said he had investigated the bowling alley fire, and was impressed with how the fire department kept the fire contained to one small room and there was no extra damage. He said he is proud to be a part of borough’s fire department.
Kling said the fire department reported to 275 calls for 2013. He said the department currently has 30 to 35 active members, and the average age of the members is 27 years.
Kling reported the newly refurbished fire engine is having some electrical issues with some lights that they are having repaired through Bud’s Electric. He said the bill will be forwarded to the manufacturer for warranty coverage.
Kling said he is anxious for borough council to set up a fire department liaison committee. Public Safety Committee Chairman Wade Cowder said the council will get a meeting set up to work on that.
Police Chief Vincent McGinnis reported 457 incidents for last month, and 6,225 total incidents for 2013. The Personnel Committee recommended that Officer Paul Butler be removed from probation status after having completed his six months of probation and that he is to be officially hired to the borough police department.
The Public Works Committee approved to recommend the purchase of a 2014 F-350 Ford pick-up from Dotts Motors for $27,619, plus the purchase and installation of snowplow and spreader for the truck from Tri-County Performance for $5,203 and $5,659, respectively.
The committee also recommends the purchase of a street sweeper at a cost, less trade in of the current street sweeper, of $121,981, with a $21,981 down-payment. The balance of $100,000 is recommended to be financed through CNB for five years at 3.29 percent interest.
Engineer Todd Banks reported core boring will begin next week on the Stinky Run paving project that includes paving of Daisy and 10th streets on out. He said the project is slated to begin in early 2015. Councilman James Kling said he would like to see this project started earlier. Other council members agreed that this area is bad.
Stott suggested funding other projects for 2014 with CDBG funds to open up more Liquid Fuels funds for the Stinky Run project so it can be started this year. Banks agreed that may be an option.
Banks said the drawings for the streetscape project will be ready to be presented to council at next month’s meeting. He said this project is scheduled to start in early fall of this year.
An issue with ice buildup due to the recent below zerofreeze created traffic hazards and led to many complaints over the past week. It was noted the worst area was on 10th Street. Banks said the problem is due to ground water seepage.
It was noted that the problem areas are on state roads, which are the responsibility of the state Department of Transportation. The public works committee agreed to recommend a letter be drafted to PennDOT advising of these several hazards and request immediate remediation action.
Mack reported issuing several citations to residents for failure to shovel sidewalks. He requested permission from council to review the borough’s code book for updates. He said many of the codes and fines are far outdated.
Councilman Dave Gallagher asked if Stott could find any funds that could be directed to some needed paving in South Park – Second Ward area, including Park Avenue, Sixth Street and Arnold Avenue. Councilman Tim Winters suggested that anyone knowing of streets that need work to bring it to the attention of council for review and action.
A public hearing is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. on Jan. 16 for state Department of Community and Economic Development grant applications. Included is a grant application of $30,000 approved at council’s December meeting for Clearfield Revitalization Corp. to provide funding in the form of a loan to Robert Knepp, toward acquisition of digital projectors for the Ritz Theater. Further, the Planning and Community Development Committee recommends a resolution to apply for an additional $30,000 pass through grant for the CRC for façade renovations, plus a grant for $453,887 to complete the North Third Street streetscape project.