CLEARFIELD – Clearfield Borough Council discussed the roof of the police station and also snow removal issues in the borough at Thursday night’s meeting.
Street Foreman Todd Kling said the police station roof is in bad shape. “It’s in dire need of some repairs,” he said, adding that it has been an ongoing problem.
Code Enforcement Officer Larry Mack added that every room in the station has buckets catching water, and it poses a threat to the electronics in the building as well as everything else.
Kling said the rubber roof was not properly installed to begin with and it was poorly maintained. He said there is water between the decking, insulation and the rubber roofing creating a health hazard as well.
He said he had suggested three years ago a plan to divide the roof into sections and replace a section every one to two years, but nothing was done.
“I’m disgusted and embarrassed,” he said of the roof’s condition.
Mack suggested council get an estimate on what a truss roof system would cost the borough and begin planning on having it replaced.
Later in the meeting, under new business, council member Jim Kling returned to the issue. He said in the early 1990’s, Hughes Engineering drew up plans for a truss roof, but council has put off replacement due to the cost, as well as many other projects that have needed addressed in the borough.
Council briefly discussed the matter and agreed to begin by contacting Hughes and asking if they still have copies of those plans.
Todd Kling also brought up problems with snow removal in the borough. He said a small number of people are making it bad for everyone else.
He said effective plowing is difficult because people are not moving their vehicles, including trailers, are parking in alleys and creating other parking situations.
He said snow is also being shoveled or plowed into the streets or across roadways into other people’s property. The snow piles left behind then freeze hard and damage borough plowing equipment when crews try to remove them and he has told workers to stop trying to remove the obstacles.
The borough has a snow emergency ordinance, but Mayor Jim Schell noted that the ordinance has no teeth. Both agreed that the ordinance needs to be reviewed and revised.
Todd Kling also said he stopped a pick-up truck from plowing snow off of borough sidewalks recently. He has also stopped people from using all-terrain vehicles to plow sidewalks.
He noted the borough has an ordinance restricting motorized vehicles from sidewalks and said it also needs to be reviewed and revised.
