Newell residents against location of new shed
NEWELL – Several Newell residents complained to the borough council Monday about its decision to place a new shed at a vacant playground on Fourth Street. Residents said that although there was no longer playground equipment at the location, the basketball court that is there should remain.
Councilman James Livingstone said that a shed was necessary to store salt and ashes for the roads, and the playground has been vacant for 10 years. He said the location the council approved was the most economical choice.
“We need a shed because it is more economical to buy salt by the truckload, and that was the best place to put it because we already had a base there,” said Livingstone. “This way we didn’t have to put a base down and we saved a lot of money.”
President Tammy Frinfrock pointed out that there had been a petition to save the basketball court circulating in town, but not many residents signed it.
“I never wanted the shed to be there and I understand why no one wants it to be there,” said Frinfrock. “But we can’t use taxpayers’ money to move it again.”
Livingstone explained that blocks for the building had already been delivered to that location, and the council had received grant money to cover costs. If the public wants the shed moved to another location, borough money would have to be used.
The council agreed that it would vote to move the building if local residents had a large number of people sign a petition stating that they would be willing to use tax dollars to have the shed placed in another location.
Council members said they also received numerous complaints about the borough truck being kept outside.
“I think it should be in the garage,” said Councilman John Matty.
Council members said that they had allowed the fire department to store a large fire truck in their garage to protect citizens who live below the train tracks. Councilman Joseph Dandrea Jr., also a firefighter, said this was done as a precaution in case a train was passing through town during a fire.
Dandrea said the larger fire truck was brought to the garage because the department’s smaller trucks could not sustain enough water flow to handle a structure fire.
This left the council facing the problem of not being able to fit the fire truck, borough truck and tractor into the garage at the same time. As a result, the borough truck had been left outside.
“The council wants to have a fire truck in this building,” said Frinfrock. “But the council doesn’t want our truck to be outside.”
Although Dandrea said he could not guarantee that the fire company could extinguish a house fire with the smaller truck when necessary, the council voted to bring a smaller truck to the garage so that all the borough equipment could fit inside. Dandrea and Livingstone voted against the motion because they believed it was an issue of public safety, while Matty, Frinfrock and Councilman Reginald Pierce voted in favor of the motion because they felt the borough equipment was not safe outside.
In another matter, Frinfrock said that Community Days will be held on Aug. 19, and the recreation board is meeting every Sunday evening at the borough building at 6:30 p.m. until the event takes place. Anyone interested in volunteering for Community Days is welcome to attend those meetings, as well as any non-profit organization that would like to set up a booth.
The council reminded the public that only non-profit organizations are allowed to sell items at the event.