Water, sewer matters plague boro / By Martha Knight

Former borough manager Dick Kallenborn, still serving Port Allegany in a consulting mode, reported on the latest round of sewer and water woes at the monthly meeting Monday night.

The sewer plant heating boiler failed. The 14-year-old heater is “busted” beyond repair, and will be replaced, Kallenborn said.

In one of the three settling tanks at the sewage treatment complex, the “clarigester skimmer” broke and twisted around the main shaft. A steel fabricator was called in to make emergency repairs.

A further complication is that the system’s operating permit will expire later this year. “I don’t want to miss the deadline, so we have begun the process of renewal,” Kallenborn reported.

Water lines also have been a concern, with one main line having developed a leak and many homeowners experiencing frozen lines of their own. “Let the water trickle from a faucet” was Kallenborn’s advice.

A related matter was brought up by council member Eric Button,  who suggested that an advisory be issued through the press, to clear snow and ice from around fire hydrants.

Council president Andrew Johnson added that even as they spoke, Star Hose volunteers, who otherwise would be doing some skill-building training, were “out shoveling hydrants.” Button added that time spent looking for and accessing snowbound hydrants might be a “life-or-death” interval.

The latest round of advertisements of the borough manager position has brought “several resumes from some qualified candidates,” Kallenborn said.

The flood protection project design will be completed this spring, Kallenborn said. When AECOM engineers complete a final design, delineating the placement of dikes and the exact locations of the needed easements, the borough will act to obtain the necessary areas.

It is believed that the borough will need to obtain land or easements on part of the former Indian Echo golf course. The future viability of the tract as a golf course is questionable, and the land or easement value less, than when negotiations were opened a few years ago, Kallenborn said.

Another major project also in a design phase is that of sewer and water line extensions into Liberty Township, with water and sewerage to be provided by the borough once construction has been completed and customers accepted

The borough will need to find funding for its acquisition costs, the major local cost, Kallenborn reminded the council.

Borough and the Liberty Township officials will be meeting to negotiate an updated agreement between the municipalities, Kallenborn said. They will have to “build from scratch” the new pact, dealing with such thorny topics as which entity owns the infrastructure involved and which is responsible for maintenance.

The borough long has provided water and sewer services to the Brooklynside portion of Liberty Township, plus some other nearby locations. The new expansion will serve a number of residents and businesses along Route 155 South.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has assured the township that additional sewerage services will have to be added in the near future, so the current expansion project will not be the last.

The application of the Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA) to the uniformed retirees’ pension disbursements was discussed. A letter had been received from Univest, the firm handling the pension plans. It applied the latest COLA, 1.7 percent, to the pensions for Joseph S. Knell and Donald P. Carley, both retired from the local police force.

In reviewing the Univest correspondence Kallenborn commented that no provision for a COLA is in the current (recently negotiated) contract with the non-uniformed employees. He pointed out that he is now a retiree in the non-uniformed category, and believes it is unfair to provide the benefit for one group and not for the other. Council agreed to consider the matter.

Kallenborn mentioned that the borough has cleaned up the Christmas decorations and trees from the Square. The Nativity display was to have been removed and stored by volunteers, but the group that had agreed to do that had not been available. Meanwhile “people have been trying to pilfer” some elements of the Nativity display, which was built and funded by public donations this past November. One item said to have been targeted was the life size “Baby Jesus” doll.

LeRoy “Butch” Schaffer addressed the council and public in the public comments period. He said this was his first such visit as a Republican candidate for McKean County commissioner in the upcoming primary.

Schaffer said he is supportive of the use of the county’s Act 13 Marcellus Shale impact fee funds to assist municipalities with such vital projects as flood control. He said that as a member of the county planning commission, he strongly recommended a high priority for the dike project. He also served as a township supervisor, chairman and vice-chairman for Norwich Township.

Borough Council held two executive (closed to the public) sessions, interrupting the regular meeting for about 15 minutes immediately after it began, and again before adjournment.

LeRoy "Butch" Schaffer addresses the Port Allegany Borough Council and public at the council meeting Monday night, as he kicks off his campaign for a Republican nomination for McKean County commissioner. He is a former Norwich Township supervisor, chairman and vice-chairman and a member of the county planning commission.  Martha Knight Photo