Brownsville offers help to displaced workers
?BROWNSVILLE — Brownsville Borough Council Tuesday vowed to do what it can to help the 306 employees at Teleperformance slated for layoffs later this summer.
Mayor Lester Ward told council he received a letter from Teleperformance about the layoffs that include 238 customer service representatives and various managers and trainers.
Councilwoman Teresa Hosler is one of the affected Teleperformance employees and the mayor asked her to expand on what the company will be doing for the workers who will be losing their jobs in August.
“They’re going to bring in representatives from CareerLink about various training programs and benefits,” Teresa Hosler said. “They’ll be stationed at our call center.”
Councilman James Lawver suggested that the borough offer space in the borough building for a job fair for the affected employees.
In other matters, the Brownsville Neighborhood Watch is hosting the I Care About Kids Fair this evening to provide parents with information about low-cost or free programs for their children.
Rose Ziglear, the chairwoman of the Neighborhood Watch group, presented information about the fair to Brownsville Borough Council, noting that the event will be held from 6-8?p.m. at the North Side Fire Hall.
Ziglear said participants in the fair include the Brownsville Free Public Library, the Market Street Academy and Performing Arts Center, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Scouts, the juvenile probation office, Communities in Schools, and the PIC Fayette Enrichment program.
“The library has all kinds of programs for kids all summer long and they’re free,” Ziglear said.
Ziglear said registration forms for the programs offered by the various organizations will be available at the fair. Information will also be available to residents who may feel they are being harassed by youths in the community.
Council voted Tuesday to contact McMillen Engineering to see if it is safe for both lanes of Broadway to be reopened.
Because of a previous landslide the road has been restricted to one lane for the past month. Councilman John Hosler said there has been no movement of the hillside for several weeks.
James Lawver reported on a motion he made last month for several downtown buildings now owned by the borough to be torn down.
Lawver said he has prioritized the structures, starting with the ones that are in some stage of collapse and should be removed as soon as possible. Lawver said those buildings include 39-41 Market St., 43 Market St,, 17-19 Market St., 204 High St. and the old hardware store on Market Street.
James Lawver also questioned some of the demolition estimates engineers have provided for the work, such as the removal of a mobile home on Seneca Street.
Lawver said it has been estimated that it will cost $11,000 to remove or demolish the trailer, though he received an estimate of $1,600 including all permit and disposal fees.
James Lawver said the borough Tuesday was in court regarding a privately owned building on Market Street that partially collapsed recently. James Lawver said that while the owner told the court the property had been sold, the borough solicitor discovered that the sale was to a corporation set up by the same person.