Below is an article by Michael Duck covering this week's City Council meeting and Mayor Panto's announcement that the City is looking into leasing the needed extra street sweeper to cover the West Ward. Dennis Lieb, Tim Pickel and I met with Councilwoman El Warner, Public Works Director Dave Hopkins and Becky Bradley, Director of Planning recently, to discuss street cleaning and code enforcement issues still plaguing the West Ward. I am encouraged that this issue was on the plate at this City Council meeting, and while the leasing solution could be problematic (see Michael's article), I do feel that the City is hearing us, and that in the wake of continued pressure from West Ward residents, the stated intent to implement a viable and comprehensive street cleaning program is genuine.
Code enforcement is proving to be a more difficult problem to solve. According to Becky Bradley, as a 2nd class city, Easton is bound by State law with regard to code enforcement policy. I intend to find out why it is that codes seem to get enforced in other places (i.e., Wilson doesn't have the blight or garbage problem that the West Ward does, and they are adjacent to us). I suspect that the problem the Mayor mentioned at our last town hall meeting--judges not enforcing maximum fines on cited slumlords--might have something to do with judges that are elected rather than appointed in the first place. It seems like a crazy system that invites bias, if you ask me.
But good news is good news, and progress is progress--a real street sweeping program for the West Ward is still on the table, and with a mayor whose motto is "Clean & Safe," I'm sure there is some personal motivation, aside from neighborhood pressure, working in our favor.
Please check out Michael Duck's article below, and post a comment:
Two Rivers Blog Article by Michael Duck on Street Sweeping Announcement by Mayor Panto
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11 comments:
Thanks for the update on this! Looking forward to seeing how regular street sweeping progresses. On my way back from a jog this morning, I saw the sweeper driving down Washington street. It wasn't sweeping, however. I guess it was en route somewhere. :)
We have started doing a once a week walk around our block picking up a bag of garbage. A great way to do community service on your own time line.
Thanks for the update.
Currently the only street with a real opposite-side-of-the-street parking program during work hours (so that the sweeper can get to the curb) is Butler Street. Butler and 7th Streets are currently being swept. If you see a sweeper on other streets, it is probably en route to one of those streets, which is why it is just driving down the middle of the road, since the cars are in the way.
Actually I have seen the sweeper on other streets sweeping but they are weaving in and out of parked cars. I also called about Michael Duck's article and questioned the leasing opportunity. The person in City Hall told me that the Mayor has wanted this program since his arrival in office and that leasing was explored but more likely it will be a short term loan of five years. She said the current low interest rates are what attracted the mayor. She also said he was originally loking to use stimulus funds but the feds turned down the city's request.
yes, the mayor wanted to use the recent batch of CDBG stimulus money to buy the extra sweeper needed, but the money came with strings that it could not be used for "equipment purchases."
basically, whenever we see the sweeper weaving in and out on any streets other than butler, the sweeper is just being nice and trying to do a little extra if they have time on the way from butler to single blocks currently scheduled on 6th,7th & walnut streets.
When did Easton become a city of the second class?
I'm not sure what the population cut-off is, but the "class" of city is strictly according to the size of the city in terms of number of people, as I understand it. If anyone knows more about the classifications of cities, please post so that we all know--thx!
This is what I love about blogs, people with no knowledge of a subject speak as if they know and all of a sudden the puiblic is duped into believing something that isn't true.
CASE IN POINT -- Noel, the city of Easton prior to our new HOME RULE charter was and to some extent a PA city of the Third Class ( as almost all other cities in PA except Philadelphia (of the First Class) Pittsburgh (of the Second Class) and Scranton (of the 2A Class). IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH POPULATION SIZE!!!
Now we all know the facts. Thanks,
we have been a City of the Third Class since incorporation from a Borough a little over 120 years ago.
Anon, you've got a little repressed anger there that I'm not sure has to do with Easton class as a city, but thanks for the info--would you mind enlightening us as to what determines city class size then, if not population? The cities you listed as 1st, 2nd and 2A class, are also listed according to population. I'm clearly no expert, otherwise I wouldn't be asking my readership for info, but you needn't abuse the "all caps" button (known as 'e-shouting') because it detracts from your arguments and makes you look a little imbalanced.
I do not now who wrote the comments under Anon initially but he or she is correct that population has nothing to do with the class of a city. Class refers solely to the type of government structure has under the Municipal Code of Pennsylvania. For example Allentown is over 100,000 and Easton is less than 30,000 -- same "class." Additionally, within the Third Class City Code there are also options as to the structure you wanted to be -- Easton was and to some extent where our new Home Rule Charter does not address -- a city of the Third Class Option A Mayor Council form of government.
Many of our Townships now have populations greater than most cities but they retain their Township form of government until they decide by Referendum if they want to change their structure to something different.
That's interesting...so we could actually change our class if enough people wanted to? I'm going to have to get some info on the benefits of each of the city classes...maybe we've outgrown our status, not just in population but in terms of other needs, i.e., would the hands of our Code Dept. still be tied re: amending code regulation if we were another class? I wonder what we would lose, and what we would gain if we changed our class...
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