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Point Marion officials say landlord ordinances working well

By Erin Hayes for The 3 min read

POINT MARION — Borough officials reported Wednesday that enforcement of the borough’s new landlord-tenant ordinances is going smoothly, with many landlords taking advantage of an incentive to register their rental properties early and avoid associated fees.

Borough Manager Art Strimel said many landlords were taking advantage of the borough’s initiative, which waves 100 percent of registration fees through August and 50 percent of registration fees through September. Beginning in October, landlords will be required to pay all fees, which range from $50 to $100 per rental unit.

“We’re getting a very good reception, and the code officer has started inspections and issuing occupancy permits,” Strimel said.

The ordinances were designed to quell disruptive behavior in the borough and hold landlords accountable for the condition of their rental properties.

Mayor Carl Ables said that many landlords were resistant to the ordinance when it was first proposed, but have since come to accept it.

“The word has gotten out,” said Strimel, adding that he received calls from other communities inquiring how to implement similar ordinances.

Also at the council meeting Wednesday, Ables said he would meet again with representatives from the Southwest Regional Police Department, which was contracted to provide police protection to the borough in April, to discuss stepping up law enforcement efforts in the 300 block of Railroad Street.

Ables said he has been receiving noise complaints from that area, and Strimel said there are cars parked along the street with no tags or out-of-state tags, depriving other residents of parking spaces. Ables added that an ambulance would not be able to get through should it ever be necessary.

Ables reported that in the last month, officers received three criminal complaints, made four arrests, issued one non-traffic citation, and performed 57 vehicular stops. Of those stops, 33 drivers were ticketed and 24 received warnings.

In other matters, Strimel reported that since dropping liability insurance coverage of the borough’s former police department last year, the borough was able to secure less expensive coverage this year. Council voted to accept a commercial policy quote from Selective Insurance from August 2014 to August 2015 in the amount of $15,921, resulting in a savings of about $1,800 for the borough. The new policy includes upgraded coverage for the community park, water plant and liability coverage of borough officials, Strimel said.

In the same vote, council accepted coverage through Amerihealth Causality Insurance that would save the borough about $2,000 compared to a policy the borough secured last year, according to Strimel.

In other business, council approved payment of $41,276.76 for work completed on the borough’s waterline project. Of that amount, $41,026.76 is for John T. Subrick, Inc., and $250 is for Alpha Associates.

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