Council votes to tear down two houses
WEST BROWNSVILLE – The West Brownsville Borough Council voted Tuesday to tear down two houses located on Liberty Street that council members said were a liability concern to the borough. Since the borough owns one property and the other property owner already authorized the borough to demolish the home, council members said they should be torn down as soon as possible.
President Dan Kendall said that the fire department had intended to use one of the properties for fire school, but councilman Gary Bennett, also a fireman, said they faced a liability issue because of other homes that were very close the house that needed burned.
“I feel that we should knock them both down and we should do it quick,” said Kendall, explaining that the homes were so dilapidated that they were falling apart, and would be dangerous to anyone who entered the property.
Mayor Martin Brockman said the borough must start with cleaning up its own properties if they expect others to do the same.
In other matters, the council was approached in the past by residents who thought the borough should consider joining a regional police force.
Kendall brought some figures to Tuesday’s meeting that he said explained why he was against doing away with the borough’s own police force.
Kendall said that looking back through 1999, the fines and magistrate fees that were given back to the borough had generated about $60,000 in revenue.
“People always ask why I am dead set against regionalization,” said Kendall. “Without our own police force, we would not have this money in the budget.
Kendall added that each year, the council budgets, $35,000 for the police department, but Brockman is always able to manage the department in such a way that they have money left over each year.
Kendall said that in the last three years, there has always been roughly $10,000 surplus.
“The mayor is judicious in what he does with the police force,” said Kendall. “I can’t see us regionalizing. If it’s that good, why aren’t more of the other boroughs getting involved?”
In other business, the council authorized the solicitor to write a standard letter to anyone requesting information about borough employees.
The letter would inform them that unless they are required to by law, the borough will not divulge information about employees except to verify their job titles and dates of employment.
In an unrelated matter, Bennett announced that the fire department will hold a cash bash on April 5 and a dance to benefit autism research on April 19.