Feb 14, 2008 By Steve Ferris 3 min read

FAIRCHANCE – Borough council formed a bridge committee Wednesday to work with the National Exchange Club of Fairchance to replace one bridge in Fairchance Community Park and repair or replace a second bridge. The remains of one of the wooden pedestrian bridges was removed after a tree fell and destroyed it in a storm last February or March and a second bridge was removed after the borough engineer determined it was unsafe. One bridge remains standing, but it has begun to deteriorate.

Chuck Trump of the Exchange Club said the club wants to work with the borough to build one new bridge and repair or replace the remaining bridge.

Council President Herbert Myers said a new bridge would cost about $10,000, and the borough can’t afford it.

He said the engineer told him the bridges were under-constructed, and bridges require a great deal of maintenance.

“Bridges are a liability,” said Council vice president Dora Miller.

Councilman Raymond Eicher said after the tree destroyed the first bridge, the borough was required by its insurance company to cut down several pine trees because they would have crushed a pavilion if they fell.

He said mounds had to be installed in the creek to reach the island were the pine trees were located.

Miller said the trees also shielded the park from view.

Trump said the park is a tremendous amenity for such a small borough and the club wants to help with the bridges.

Councilman Howard McGhee, Eicher and Myers volunteered to serve on the committee.

In unrelated business, resident Russell Sutton asked council to find records showing when council vacated an alley adjacent to his house to help settle a long-running dispute with his neighbor.

Sutton said he found records that say his neighbor acquired the alley for $1 in 1996, but the deed doesn’t say the borough ever owned the alley.

However, Sutton said if the borough vacated the alley, half of it should belong to him. Myers said the borough secretary would look for the records.

In other business, council adopted two storm water ordinances that were required by the state Department of Environmental Protection.

One makes it illegal to discharge anything but storm water into storm water drains or to make unauthorized connections to storm water sewers.

The second ordinance requires storm water management plans for all development.

The ordinances empower the borough to inspect storm sewer installations and test storm drain discharges.