Work to begin on sewer line upgrade in California Borough
CALIFORNIA – Work is about to begin on the sewer line upgrade project in California Borough. Borough council President Jon Bittner said Monday that the borough had its closing on its $6 million PENNVEST loan on Jan. 10.
“All the funding is in place for the sewer project,” Bittner said.
The council will meet with all of the contractors for the project for a pre-construction meeting on Jan. 23 at 9 .m., then work can begin. The project will include the installation of new sewer lines on First, Wood and Union streets and the Granville area of the borough, with W.G. Tomko carrying out that work at a bid price of $5,846,980.
Chivers Construction Co. will be constructing a central pump station and operations building at a cost of slightly more than $4 million. Additional contractors on the job are Port Vue Plumbing, East West Manufacturing and Supply and David W. Jones Co. Inc.
Newly seated Councilwoman Sheila Chambers, who heads the public health committee, said a new portable composite sampler is needed for the sewage plant. Council approved the purchase of the new sampler if the old sampler, which has broken, is no longer under warranty.
In other matters, council voted to appoint Mayor Casey Durdines to the California Borough Recreation Authority. In public comment at the end of the meeting former councilman Artie Harris questioned whether the mayor is permitted to serve on the recreation authority. Durdines said he researched the matter, citing Section 1104 of the Borough Code regarding incompatible offices, which states elected officials may sit on boards or authorities as long as there is no incompatibility in fact and as long as they do not receive compensation for the service.
Bittner said council would take Harris’ concern under advisement. Councilwoman Shelly Roberts, who also was just sworn into office, said she noticed that there is no job description for the code enforcement officer. Council gave Roberts permission to research the matter and develop a job description for council approval. Roberts heads the public housing committee.
Roberts also requested a laptop computer for the zoning officer to use in the field to record code violations and to keep a work log, and a computer for council use that includes Internet access. Durdines said there are some old computers from the police department that may be able to be used for the council computer.
Roberts said she has also been researching legal definitions of “family” that can be used in the borough’s zoning ordinance. Roberts said the definition currently used by Indiana Borough has held up at all court levels including the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Indiana Borough ordinance defines a functional family as “either an individual or a group of people plus their offspring, having a relationship which is functionally equivalent to a family. The relationship must be of a permanent and distinct character with a demonstrable and recognizable bond characteristic of a cohesive unit. Functional family does not include any society, club, fraternity, sorority, association, lodge organization or students where the common living arrangement or basis for the establishment of the housekeeping unit is temporary.”
Council is continuing to look into the matter, including additional changes to be made to the zoning ordinance.
Council accepted the resignation of part-time police officer Thomas Patton, who actually had not worked any shifts for the borough due to other employment. Durdines also reported that two borough officers have been trained on how to set up sobriety checkpoints, and checkpoints could be in place as early as this summer.
Durdines also reported that the borough officer serving as the school resource officer for the California Area School District has completed training under the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program, which he will be implementing in the district in the near future.