Hellertown Borough Council convened its regular meeting Monday, covering a packed agenda that touched on everything from a resident’s sidewalk violation appeal to a stretch of Main Street concerned citizens say is a car crash waiting to happen.
1500 Block of Main Street: ‘It’s Not a Question of If, It’s When‘
Residents from the 1500 block of Main Street came before council to raise an escalating safety concern about vehicle accidents at a bend in the road near their homes.
Councilman Tom Rieger told the chamber that only weeks ago another accident occurred at the bend, in which a car careening up the bank, taking out steps, railings and signs in the process. Due to the frequency of crashes there, the telephone pole at that location, he noted, “has been replaced, probably half a dozen times in the last three, four years.”
Emergency officials respond to the scene of a single-car accident involving a telephone pole in the 1500 block of Main Street on Aug. 23, 2015. (FILE PHOTO)
“Those cars barely missed going inside a home,” Rieger said. “And there’s bedrooms in those front rooms and couches in those front rooms. And one of these times a car is going to come flying around that corner, jump that curb and end up in somebody’s house, and somebody’s going to get hurt.”
Rieger traced the problem to a road redesign in 2010, when turning lanes were added for both Roth Avenue and High Street as part of the Rt. 412 interchange improvement project. As a result, the travel lane was moved closer to the curb.
Saucon Source–which began publishing in October 2014–has photos of accident scenes in the 1500 block of Main Street dating back more than 10 years in its news archive.
Police Chief James Baitinger confirmed he had spoken to several residents by phone and that right-to-know requests had been filed for that specific accident report. “In my year and seven months here we’ve had quite a few accidents there,” he said.
Council voted unanimously to authorize borough staff to engage with PennDOT to review the road’s design and potentially devise a remedy for the situation.
Resident Challenges Sidewalk Violation
Resident Michael Kerner appeared on behalf of his mother, borough property owner Nancy Kerner, to dispute a sidewalk violation issued to the property.
Kerner told council his family was aware of issues with the sidewalk before the violation notice arrived, and had obtained an estimate for approximately $2,400 to completely replace the affected concrete panels.
Because his mother is expecting to move within five years, Kerner said he researched an alternative solution: constructing concrete ramps over the lifted tiles rather than replacing them outright.
But his building plan was denied. Kerner said the denial letter stated his proposal “would not restore the sidewalk to a uniform level walking surface.” He pushed back on that language directly.
“I don’t really see how the words uniform and level can be enforceable there,” he said. “The word uniform only appears in chapter 385 of the Hellertown Borough Code in the context of the physical composition of the sidewalk and the regularity of the sidewalk spacing. It’s not used to refer to the surface texture of a sidewalk.”
He further said the denial’s claim that concrete ramps are “temporary and non-compliant” didn’t hold up. “Concrete is quite literally used to construct sidewalks because it is so durable,” he said.
Kerner told council he filed a right-to-know request and learned that approximately 65 sidewalk notices of violation were issued in March. But walking around the borough, he said he had noticed “literally hundreds of violations, including cracks in sidewalk panels and vertical gaps of more than one-half inch.”
He also noted that an estimate for tree and stump removal had come in at over $10,000, and that over time, removing the trees might make more financial sense if full sidewalk replacement truly is the only option.
“One of the worst possibilities that one could imagine is that a large proportion of residents receiving sidewalk violations due to tree damage will simply choose to just cut down mature trees in lieu of continuing to pay for these sidewalk repairs every few years. And that would be a real shame.”
Council acknowledged Kerner’s presentation, noting he was not the first resident to raise sidewalk concerns at a meeting and would not be the last.
“I refuse to believe that the only way to repair a sidewalk with a small crack or any vertical gap of more than a half inch is complete replacement,” Kerner said. “If that’s truly the policy of the borough, then there are hundreds of borough residents who will be responsible for potentially millions of dollars (in repairs).”
Payroll Implementation Plan Approved
Council voted to approve a new payroll implementation plan which is set to take effect with the pay period commencing April 19.
Under the plan, employees in administration, public works, parks and sanitation will record their hours using the “iSolved” timekeeping platform, clocking in and out for all scheduled shifts.
Council President Lynley Solt confirmed that under the new plan, compensatory time will be handled directly by the finance manager, Lisa Carl, rather than through the timekeeping system itself.
Civil Service Commissioners Sworn In
The borough filled vacant civil service commission positions, as Delilah Black and Richard Weddigen were sworn in by Mayor David Heintzelman.
The next Hellertown Borough Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 20 at 7 p.m. at Borough Hall.