FRANKLIN, Pa. (EYT) — In perhaps a surprising move, the Franklin City Council voted down, 4-3, a proposed ordinance to add a stop sign at the intersection of 14th Street and Elk Street.

Voting against the measure were councilmembers Mike Dulaney, Donna Fletcher (the deputy mayor), Sam Lyons and Fred Mays. Voting for it were Mayor Doug Baker and councilmembers James Marshall and James Johnson.

The idea to put stop signs at the location was to control the speed of traffic, but Fletcher said she was opposed to the measure because of the perceived apathy of those in the affected area.

“We sent out 20 surveys to people on that block, and only seven were returned,” Fletcher said.

Fletcher said those seven had concerns about speed in the area, so the City recently installed a speed bump in the area.

“We put in a speed bump based on what seven people wanted,” Fletcher said. “Let’s let the speed bump go for a while and see how it does before putting in a stop sign.”

CHANGES COMING TO THE CITY’S PROPERTY MAINTENANCE CODE

Changes could soon be on the way to the City’s Property Maintenance Code after the Council voted to amend article 1101 of the code.

There are a few main changes to the code.

One would require that all boarded up buildings in the city would need to be done in a similar manner.

A second would require property owners to keep all sidewalks, walkways, stairs, driveways, parking spaces and similar areas in a “proper state of repair and maintained free from hazardous conditions. That would include the space between the sidewalk and the street curb, according to solicitor Brian Spaid, who helped draft the ordinance.

According to Spaid, a recent development of property owners putting landscaping stone in that area between the sidewalk and the street prompted some of the changes. He said that those stones and other things being put in that space create a public safety hazard.

“Under this ordinance, they would be forced to be removed,” Spaid said. “Even ones that are in place now would need to be removed.”

The proposed ordinance change also would move the section where “all snow and ice shall be removed from sidewalks, walkways and stairs within six hours after the same has fallen or formed and shall remain clear of snow and ice thereafter” into the same section mentioned above.

Spaid said this is not a new policy and in fact has been in place since 1915, but he also said that the city wouldn’t be the “snow police” and as in the past would most likely understand that if it snows at Midnight or on a weekend when a business wasn’t open, property owners would be given leeway on the six hours to remove the snow and ice. The changes would also move enforcement of the snow regulation from the street department to the code enforcement officer.

The third portion of the section of the ordinance would require property owners to keep all trees and shrubs trimmed in order to avoid obstructions or interference with pedestrians using sidewalks, walkways and stairs.

Dulaney asked Spaid if the changes would be putting added responsibility on the property owner.

Spaid, who jokingly referred to Dulaney’s inquiry as a “loaded question” said that he didn’t believe the changes would be adding any more responsibility.

“But they would be taking care of the hazardous conditions and putting more teeth into the ordinance,” Spaid said.

COUNCIL APPROVES IMPROVEMENTS TO MILLER-SIBLEY PARK

The council took action to approve some improvements to Miller-Sibley Park.

After hearing from Franklin Little League President Bridget Wood, they approved the league’s request to put a new fence up on the main Little League field while also improving the secondary fields to now include a grass infield as opposed to the current dirt infield.

Wood said the league held a fundraiser for the new fence (the Clemente Car fundraiser) that raised almost $30,000.

According to Wood, the league would like to start the improvements at the Park in September, and she thanked the council for its support of the league.

“We really appreciate the use of Miller-Sibley,” Wood said. “And the cooperation of Terry Ruditis and his crew is amazing.”

Wood also said that the league would like to redo the restrooms at some point.

Along those lines, later in the meeting, the council approved a using Amos E. Rudolph Architecture, LLC for planning and design consultation services.

Rudolph will get paid $3,400 to complete a revised site plan for grant proposal purposes and to complete the budget numbers for a new layout to be used for grant submission.

The company will get an additional $2,100, half of it paid by the Franklin Little League, for concession stand and bathroom ADA revisions that will include a complete code review, a visit to the site and complete, as built, plans as required to prepare construction documents, complete design for the renovated facility, develop the floor plans for permitting and bidding, incorporate all ADA guidelines and details and complete all permit applications and sign and seal all drawing with Architect’s Seal. The cost for any permits was not included in this cost.

PUBLIC HEARING SET FOR SHEETZ LIQUOR LICENSE TRANSFER REQUEST

The council set Sept. 10 as the date for a public hearing regarding Sheetz’s request to transfer a liquor license into the city for use at its Liberty Street location. The company is planning on adding seating to the location and will start to sell beer and possibly wine if the request is approved.

OTHER BUSINESS

In other business the council:

Approved handicapped parking spaces on the south side of Elk Street and on the east side of 12th street.

Gave conditional approval to Dawood Engineers of Canonsburg, Pa. as the project engineer for the Liberty Street lighting and sidewalk work. The project will involve replacing all the decorative lighting, the decorative concrete pavers and some curbing and sinking trees and tree grates. It will also include the re-painting and retrofitting of the light ballasts at the corner of 13th Street and Liberty Street. The city received a grant in the amount of $966,760 for the project. Dawood’s bid for the engineering work was the lowest of three submitted not to exceed $91,000. Mackin Engineering of Pittsburgh submitted a bid of $112,000, but it may have been more depending on PennDOT requirements, and The EADS Group of Clarion, Pa., submitted a bid not to exceed $136,900. The reason conditional approval was given was that Jamieson wants to continue researching Dawood. She said she has gotten one good recommendation about the company but wants to obtain some more before completely committing to them.

Heard a presentation about the General Authority Audit and was told the audit was good. The only potential issue would be the fact that the Authority has the same person in place for both billing and collection, but because the Authority is a small authority this might not be a big deal.

Approved certificates of appropriateness for 1237 Liberty Street (the changing of a sign), at 1256 Liberty Street (painting and replacing of a sign at Barr’s Insurance) and at 919 Liberty Street (siding, colors and a fence).

Approved parade and park requests for Riverfront Park for Aug. 18 (Rock in River/PA Stone Skipping), Bandstand Park for Aug. 25 (Community of Practice Kickoff Event) and Bandstand Park (Nov. 11) for a World War I Name Memorial Dedication.

Heard from Jamieson that the speed Bump was put in place Monday, Aug. 6, in the 1300 block of Otter Street. The bump is a temporary bump that can be removed. If the residents find that the bump is working, a more permanent one could be put in place and the temporary one could be used in other parts of the city.