Oct 14, 2004 By Angie Santello 3 min read

MASONTOWN – At the regular meeting Tuesday, the council tabled a decision to adopt an ordinance from the American Family Association of Pennsylvania to restrict adult video and bookstores in the borough. Council President Joe Volansky said under the current ordinance, those types of shops are allowed in the borough under the light industrial label in the bowling alley area of the town. “That’s why it’s so important to read it so we can strengthen the ordinance we have now and maybe disallow it all together,” Volanksy said.

In other business, the council discussed the dilapidated condition of the borough’s sidewalks, specifically on East Main Street.

“Someone is going to get killed or we are going to end up with a lot of lawsuits,” said Mayor Walter Scarton, who added that he was there when a borough resident tripped and fell on an East Main Street sidewalk, bruising his knees and possibly breaking his finger. “Our sidewalks are bad all over,” Scarton continued. “Last year we got a lawsuit because of one.”

The council said tree removal is key to preventing the walks from cracking and buckling, and the borough is in the process of removing more trees near the walks.

Although no action was taken on the matter, the council members said there is an ordinance where property owners are required to repair the sidewalks before their homes. The council suggested to have individual property owners remove trees causing walks to crack or buckle.

The council also conducted the following business:

– Established an ad hoc finance committee where Councilwoman Carole Daniels will take the place of Councilman T.J. Salonick, if needed, to calculate the 2005 budget. Currently, Loukota, Salonick and Councilman Charlie Popovich make up the committee.

– Announced that Loukota, Volansky and Police Chief Richard Barron will attend Friday’s meeting of the county’s Housing Authority to discuss the ongoing controversy over the authority reimbursing the borough for services provided to the public housing project, Fort Mason Village.

– Adopted a clarified payroll analysis system where figures for employees’ total hours and paid time will be taken directly from the spreadsheet. Loukota said the system will eliminate the confusion caused when the data was transferred twice.

– Suggested for the borough police force to cite property owners who have unusually high grass after warning them once to cut their yards.

“I think once one or two citations go out, they will get the picture and start cutting their grass,” Loukota said.