Oct 9, 2002 By Melissa Glisan 4 min read

At Tuesday’s meeting, Gallatin Avenue residents again appealed to the North Union Township supervisors for assistance with problems at a neighboring rental unit. After complaints were made at last month’s meeting, Supervisor Robert Tupta said he talked with the property owner and learned that one set of tenants had been evicted.

However, resident Nancy Harmon said those tenants weren’t the ones causing the worst of the nuisance problems.

Holding up a bag of cartridges and paintball capsules that were found in her yard, Harmon told the supervisors that this is the second time her home has been shot since she complained last month. This time, she said, she saw one teen in her yard and the second across the street while the shooting occurred.

Supervisor Tom Kumor encouraged Harmon to file charges against those responsible.

“If you see them, take them to the magistrate and file charges. I would. I would take anyone who would do that to my property to the magistrate in a heartbeat,” he said.

Tupta said that, in visiting the property, he noticed that the windows were broken out of the top floor apartment in a recent act of vandalism. Tupta said the owner assured him that as soon as the insurance company could cover the claim, the apartment would be repaired.

Another resident noted that the boards in the windows aren’t secure, and a large number of birds come and go from the property. Fearing that the apartment could be a health hazard, particularly with the threat of West Nile virus, the group asked if the township could step in. The supervisors said that a call to the state health department probably would be in the group’s best interest, especially since the residents also noted the presence of rats.

Resident Rudy Harmon said nighttime disturbances have gotten almost cyclic.

“It seems that as soon as the curfew in the city (Uniontown) kicks in, these kids come out in a wave and sit there. It’s just two blocks outside of the city,” he said.

“One night it was really bad. From about 2:30 to 6 a.m., these kids were outside banging folding chairs against Gallatin Avenue. Why should we bother? Even if we go to the point of selling, we couldn’t get anything for our property anyway,” Nancy Harmon added.

At the last meeting, the supervisors told residents that the state police could not enforce a curfew ordinance, and even if the township had police, such a measure couldn’t be enforced on private property.

“This is pretty hard, especially if he doesn’t check his tenants out. But how do we tell (the property owner) he has to rent to certain people or under certain conditions? We can’t tell a man what he can or can’t do with his own property in this case,” said Supervisor John Mateosky.

However, he did agree to have the solicitor send a letter directing that the property be cleaned up.

The supervisors also conducted the following business:

– Said they’ve received no further word on the status of the joint lawsuit filed by North Union and South Union townships with the city of Uniontown against the state and the Department of Environmental Protection regarding the tipping fee increase.

– Accepted the resignation of longtime solicitor Dan Reilly, effective Dec. 31. Reilly has served the township as solicitor for the past 25 years. Though Reilly will move to Florida in November, the supervisors decided to keep him on officially until December to allow for a smoother transition. In the next few weeks, Donald McCue of the McCue and Husband law firm will begin taking over Reilly’s duties for the township.

– Set the time for Halloween trick-or-treating for Saturday, Oct. 26, from 5 to 7:30 p.m.

– Directed Reilly to send a letter to a property owner on Bouquet Street regarding a dilapidated trailer. The supervisors noted that if they receive no response, the trailer will be condemned and the township will take action to remove it.

– Agreed to advertise for the sale of a 1985 Ford truck, cab and chassis, with snow plow.