North Union looks to give officer authority to cite people
LEMONT FURNACE – The North Union Township supervisors are trying to give their code enforcement officer some authority to cite people for traffic violations and for riding all-terrain vehicles on public roads. On Tuesday, the supervisors asked solicitor Donald McCue to investigate the matter and report his findings at the July 8 meeting.
Supervisor Curtis Matthews said he would like code officer Kyle Sneddon, a former Uniontown police chief, to have the authority to cite people for speeding or illegally operating an ATV if he witnesses a blatant violation.
Sneddon, who was hired in May, would not be asked to perform the duties of a full-time police officer, Matthews said.
A resident asked if the supervisors were considering creating a township police department?
A bill has been recently introduced in the state legislature to force municipalities with populations of at least 10,000 to form their own police department or pay for the service they receive from state police.
“I hope we don’t have to,” Matthews said, about starting a police department.
Thomas Kumor, chairman of the board of supervisors, said he calculated the cost of establishing a police department six or seven years ago and determined it would cost the average property owner $500 more a year in taxes.
Operating a department would cost $1.5 million to $2 million a year, Kumor said.
“You can have any service you want to pay for,” Kumor said.
In unrelated business, transportation coordinator Bill Piper provided an update on the Evans Manor Bridge replacement project and new traffic signals planned for Route 119.
The state Department of Transportation plans to award a contract for the bridge project on Aug. 22 and work would start in September, Piper said.
Initial work would be construction of a detour road around the bridge and installation of a temporary traffic signal where the detour road intersects with Stockyard Road, he said.
The new bridge would be finished in late 2009 and, in spring 2010, a cul de sac would be constructed at the end of the detour road and the traffic signal would become permanent, Piper said.
The bridge carries Connellsville Street over a railroad right of way.
Piper also said PennDOT is planning to install new traffic signals on Route 119 at the Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus intersection and the Mount Braddock Road intersection in 2009 and then install mast arms to support the signals in 2010. The signals currently hang from wires.
In other road-related matters, the supervisors approved 10-ton vehicle weight limits for Old Pittsburgh Road, Smith Road, Wendy Drive, Coolspring Street, Esther Street, West Penn Boulevard from Edison Street to the cul de sac, Brushwood Road, Oliver Road, Fan Hollow Road and Barber Street.
Supervisor Robert Tupta said Fan Hollow Road has remained closed since the shoulder collapsed in May.
Tupta said he believes truck traffic from the Mon/Fayette Expressway construction project caused the damage.
The road will remain closed until the township works out an agreement with the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, which is building the expressway, to repair the road, Tupta said.
The township will install new cross drains under the road when the shoulder repairs are being made, he said.
In other business, the supervisors:
Reported that a load of old vehicle tires was recently dumped on Old Braddock Road and that grates on storm sewers have been stolen from Old Pittsburgh Road and Altman Hill Road.
Passed a resolution supporting legislation that would a countywide income tax collection system.