Cell Tower Proposed For Oak Street Building In Mount Carmel

MOUNT CARMEL - Lars Anderson, attorney for Verizon Wireless, presented information and answered questions at a borough council meeting Thursday about a cell tower planned for the former Dollar General building at Fourth and Oak streets.

Verizon wants to sign a lease for 24 years and 11 months to place the tower on the building, said Anderson.

"If something were to happen, we wouldn't be able to do anything about it for 25 years," said Councilman Leroy "Chico" Moser.

The tower will be 64 1/2 feet tall, including the height of the building, and would have a diesel generator for emergency purposes.

The diesel generator will be run once or twice per month to ensure it works.

Borough council accepted the recommendation made by the planning commission to permit encroachment into the "right-of-way" for installation of the emergency diesel generator and air conditioning unit placed on the sidewalk.

Tony Matulewicz, borough council president, said unlike when there was a proposal to locate a cell tower in the town park, no opponents showed up at the meeting, even though this tower would not provide the borough with any funding and would be exclusively for Verizon customers.

"It could have provided

services across all carriers," said Matulewicz, referring to the town park tower.

Only four members of the public were present at Thursday's meeting - two that presented information on a Eagle Scout project, one seeking information about a church parking space and one regular attendee.

Ordinances enacted

Borough council adopted the landlord registration ordinance.

With the ordinance, a sticker will be placed in the window of all rental units identifying both the landlord and lessee.

Cuff explained Tuesday that in the past the borough has had issues with tenants moving into rental units that were not approved by the borough.

"Someone will just move someone in at night and it's not registered and not inspected," said Cuff. "We'll know everything is up to code, safe."

Robin Williams, code enforcement officer, said he had tenants come to him with complaints of leaking roofs, sewage problems, electrical issues and no heating.

"I'd punch (the address) up on my computer and it was never registered, never inspected," said Williams.

With the placards, the council hopes to make rental units easily identifiable so Williams can quickly tell if a place has been inspected.

Any unit lacking a placard would be unsuitable for rental, as it would signify Williams has not inspected it and approved it as habitable.

Williams said he currently had 174 landlords and 667 rental properties registered in the system.

"There's probably a lot more," said Williams.

A pave cut ordinance was also approved. Under this rule, any entity digging up a borough street has to have the road patching approved when its work is complete.

Street paving

A contract for Eastern Industries Inc. to complete road paving was approved.

Edward T. Cuff III, borough manager, said on Tuesday that the borough will spend between $250,000 and $300,000 paving streets.

Cuff, the borough council and the street department are still finalizing the paving list, which has fluctuated since it was created due to accommodating other projects, such as water lines.

The borough also approved a proposal by Pipe Services Corporation for closed circuit television (CCTV) video logging.

Cuff compared the device to a "remote control car" that will be driven in the borough's sewers to map locations and identify areas that require repairs.

John Buccanelli, an engineer with the firm engaged by the borough to manage the sewer system, said Thursday that the CCTV system is less exciting than it sounds, but would help identify tiny cracks in the pipes.

Buccanelli also announced Tuesday that smoke will be piped through sections of the borough's sewers in an effort to find issues. He said the smoke is safe and that residents should not be alarmed.

Other business

- Borough council approved renewing insurance recommended by the Zigmund Co. Ltd. The firm was engaged in May to review the borough's insurance policies for cost effectiveness.

- Graphics for the new police car were approved for purchase at a cost of $675.68.

- Samuel Cimino's letter of resignation, effective Nov. 4, was accepted. Cuff said Cimino has been employed with the sewer authority for several years.

- The lease agreement between the borough and the Mount Carmel Municipal Authority was referred to the budget committee for a recommendation on the amount for rent.

- The expected rate of return for non-uniformed and uniformed pension plans was changed to 3.5 percent.Verizon plans to place it atop former Dollar General building