Apr 11, 2012 By Christine Haines heraldstandard.Com 3 min read

BROWNSVILLE — With the borough on the verge of downtown renovations, Brownsville Council Tuesday voted to hire McMillen Engineering as a third party code enforcement officer.

The firm will handle the permitting for new construction in the borough. Engineer Terry McMillen said the borough would receive 20 percent of the fee charged. At present Fayette County Planning and Zoning handles the permitting process, with the borough receiving none of the money collected.

“Our fee is more, but you don’t pay any of it, the builder does,” McMillen said.

Council president Jack Lawver said McMillen is able to handle all aspects of building inspections and the borough would not experience the delays currently caused by short staffing at the county.

Questions were raised by Councilman John Hosler regarding restrictions on construction in the downtown area because of its historic district designation. McMillen said that anyone building downtown would have to meet the county zoning regulations, any local historic preservation regulations and the basic building code.

“We don’t have a design standard yet,” Councilman James Lawver said.

“Locally we don’t have any. It’s whatever the state dictates to us,” Jack Lawver said.

Under the historic designation, the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission requires documentation of any buildings that are torn down. At present, there are no guidelines regarding new construction.

“The borough needs to know, once the buildings are down, what are the restrictions? I think you need to know that before this big project gets going,” McMillen said.

In other matters, council voted to tear down the house at the corner of Church and Fifth streets on McMillen’s recommendation. Council voted to hire Lee’s Plumbing for the demolition work at a cost of $6,000.

Council also voted to advertise again for a borough secretary. A secretary was hired last month, but declined the position. The job will be advertised through the end of April, with interviews to be conducted May 3. All applicants will be required to pick up an application packet at the borough office.

Council also voted to send a letter to the Fayette County Redevelopment Authority requesting the deed for property adjacent to the Brownsville Free Public Library so grant money can be sought to expand the library and to put in an outdoor fenced playground/children’s reading area, as well as parking.

Mayor Lester Ward noted that this coming Saturday is a cleanup day in the borough. Volunteers are cleaning the downtown area. All residents are asked to clean the areas in front of their own homes.

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