Brownsville citizens speak out on drugs
BROWNSVILLE – About two dozen people packed the Browns-ville Council chambers Tuesday with concerns about law enforcement and building code enforcement. Stella Broadwater informed council that a group of citizens is organizing under the name Brownsville Citizens Against Drugs.
“We are going to walk with sticks. We will patrol houses. When we see traffic in and out, we will carry cell phones and we will call Uniontown, not Brownsville. Brownsville does only what the mayor tells them,” Broadwater said. “You do not have your police officers going to these drug houses.”
Broadwater called on council to impeach Mayor Norma Ryan for failure to oversee the police department.
“I have been told the cops have been told what they can and cannot do. Since she became mayor, the drugs have increased. We’re going to take Brownsville back. When we carry our sticks, it’s for the pit bulls. We’re not going to get bit up,” Broadwater said.
“We do have police officers going around saying the mayor won’t let them do things. The mayor has told them to do their job. If they aren’t, let us know,” Lawver said.
Lawver said help is needed in the court system, where cases are often continued for months and even years. He also encouraged citizens to cooperate with the police and to be willing to serve as witnesses when arrests are made, so the officers can get convictions.
“I worked the drug task force. It’s not easy,” said Councilman Tom Bush.
“I’m a drug and alcohol therapist and my husband is an officer. It’s bad when I have clients from Westmoreland and Allegheny counties who tell me the best place to buy drugs is three bars in Brownsville,” said Tammy Sheehan.
Questions were also raised about the mayor’s right to issue building permits or to tell people they are in violation of the building code.
“You’re only to govern the police,” Broadwater said to Ryan.
Council president Jack Lawver said there has been some misinformation in the community.
“We adopted the BOCA (Building Officials and Code Administrator’s) Code several years ago. It is up to the mayor to enforce the code,” Lawver said.
Lawver said the enforcement generally is done by the borough code enforcement officer or an agent from Code Systems, hired to handle code enforcement in the borough.
Ray Christner presented the council with a list of questions regarding code enforcement, including apparent requirements for multiple inspectors on the same job. Lawver said the borough’s code enforcement officers have been told to work with property owners as much as possible and to be practical in enforcement matters. Lawver said the borough is also looking at ways to get code enforcement information out to the public, including inserts on code issues with the monthly sewage bills.
The Rev. Tim Wilson, the minister at the Brownsville Christian Fellowship, said he was recently stopped by the mayor for painting the outside of his church without a permit, even though permits are not required for exterior painting. The church is located in a building owned by Ernest and Marilyn Liggett.
“It seems this town is divided in two – are you on Mr. and Mrs. Liggett’s side or are you on the other side? I’ll tell you, I’m on God’s side and I want the betterment of this community,” Rev. Wilson said. “If there’s a solution to bringing jobs into this town, if it’s gambling, so be it. If it’s fishing down at the wharf, so be it.”
Rev. Wilson questioned whether the borough was intentionally inhibiting the Liggetts from obtaining a building permit for the Plaza Theater. Work was halted there Sunday, Wilson said, because of the lack of a permit.
“There is a permit you need when you are doing work on a major commercial building in Brownsville to make sure it is done safely, and that hasn’t been done yet,” said Sheryl Heid, borough solicitor.
Heid said the borough has sent the Liggetts five letters regarding the roof on the Plaza Theater and has been in court over the issue three times.
“What we asked them to do was give us their engineer’s proposal. That’s what the courts required,” Heid said.