Discussion of sidewalk plowing rises again

by Angie Asam, Staff Writer

Jessie Palmer, who was elected in November and will begin sitting on the city commission in January. was present at Monday evening?s meeting and brought up an issue during the citizen?s present time that consumed the meeting. Palmer asked the commission about the removal of snow from the sidewalks on State Street and Washington Avenue. According to city manager Joe Hefele, the issue seems to come up every year when winter begins. ?We are really limited with only three people in our Department of Public Works (DPW). Our first priority is to plow the streets. Once we get enough snow the sidewalks really get away from us, not to mention that we don?t really have the equipment to remove the snow from the sidewalks,? said Hefele. The DPW crew concentrates on the streets to make travel safe for residents and visitors. The Presque Isle County Road Commission plows State and Washington and their plows throw up a lot of ice. Once all the snow and ice sits on the sidewalks for a day or two it becomes very difficult to remove, especially without the proper equipment. City hall has fielded a lot of calls on the issue as well and the commission will discuss it at the Jan. 6 meeting as an agenda item. DPW supervisor Clayton Dunn will be present at that meeting and will be able to discuss his issues with the commission as they work towards a decision. The city ordinance requires property owners take the responsibility of keeping the sidewalks clean upon themselves. As it is a state highway and the city receives no funding from the state to keep the sidewalks clean it comes to a decision of funding as well. As of right now Hefele made it clear the business owners need to take care of the snow on their sidewalks if they want them kept clean as the city doesn?t have the manpower or equipment to keep the sidewalks clear. IN OTHER CITY COMMISSION NEWS: ? Bev Brougham was reappointed to the Presque Isle District Library Board as the Onaway representative. ? A budget workshop will be conducted as a part of the Jan. 6 meeting as Hefele believes that he will have a first draft of the 2010-11 budget. ? Jim Bentley is requesting that the garage he purchased from Mark Farner on North First Street be rezoned from residential to commercial to allow him to run a resale shop from it. The commission referred the matter to the planning commission and it will be discussed at the Dec. 28 meeting when it can set a time for a public hearing in consideration of the request.

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