LAWRENCE CO. Regional building code is in works

Council of Governments members agreed to support plans for a recycling center in Crawford County.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Lawrence County's Council of Governments is on its way to creating a regional code enforcement office to regulate construction.
COG Director Robert Callen said 11 communities are interested in banding together to hire one person to handle a code enforcement in their communities or hire a consultant as a group.
Callen said he should know by January or February which townships and boroughs will participate.
Any money pledged by municipalities will be matched by a state grant of up to $25,000, he said. The cost to each community will be based on its size and the amount of time spent there by the code enforcement officer.
The COG can get the matching grants for up to three years, he said.
Committee: Callen said he expects to put together a steering committee consisting of representatives from each community involved to determine how the code enforcement will be set up.
The plans are in anticipation of a new state mandated Uniform Construction Code expected to be passed by legislators sometime next year. The code will spell out a new set of requirements for all new construction and some large additions that relate to safety.
Recycling: COG members are also working on plans for a recycling program that will help communities who do not have state-mandated recycling.
The COG, through a grant prepared by Lawrence County Environmental Services office, is getting more than $1 million to spend on the project.
COG members agreed Wednesday to send a letter to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in support of a proposed recycling center in West Meade Township, Crawford County. Amy Jo Labi-Carando, director of county environmental services, said that is where any recyclables collected in Lawrence County would go when the program is started.
The COG letter will help ensure that West Meade receives grants to build the center, she said.
People will be able to leave their recyclables in specially designed containers at accessible places such as shopping malls once the program is off the ground.
This is a statewide initiative, and Mercer, Crawford and several counties in eastern Pennsylvania already have the containers.
COG members are also investigating the feasibility of creating a regional sewage system and regional police departments in the county. No action was taken on those initiatives at Wednesday's meeting.