W. Washington St. span to close for repairs

Supervisors said a township authority must collect its own debts.
By MARY GRZEBIENIAK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- The West Washington Street bridge over Pa. Route 60 will close June 8 and remain closed for nine weeks while the span is repaired, Union Township supervisors announced.
Traffic will be detoured around U.S. Route 224 and Pa. Route 18, says a letter to supervisors from Robert Hunt of Shawrose Construction Inc. of Coraopolis, Pa. The bridge is scheduled to reopen by Aug. 14. Funding would be handled by the state and Lawrence County.
Also, at their Thursday meeting, supervisors split on a request from the Union Township Sewer and Disposal Authority to use township police to accompany sewer authority employees when they post notices of water shutoffs for delinquent accounts.
Supervisors Clair Damon and Kevin Guinaugh voted to deny the request, and Supervisor Pat Angiolelli dissented.
Damon expressed concerns about the liability involved in sending a police officer to post a notice at a home. Township Solicitor Gabriel Cilli agreed, stating that sending police out to post civil debts could result in a confrontation with a homeowner.
Guinaugh said he feels it is the authority's responsibility to collect its own debts. He questioned why Credit Bureau of Stark County, the agency used for 11 years to collect accounts, was dropped. He added that only one township policeman is on duty during the day and "we need him."
Angiolelli said he understands the risks but believes the township should take care of its own business.
No cost to sewer authority
Leo Carlin, also a member of the sewer authority, said the collection agency returned $325,000 to the sewer authority between 1995 and 2006 and it cost the authority nothing because collection charges are paid by the delinquent resident.
Contacted after the meeting, Charles Cumberledge, sewer authority chairman, said he was disappointed in the supervisors' action.
He said the collection agency was dropped because it was charging 30 percent to the resident to collect the accounts as well as $25 for each posting and $15 for a certified letter.
This made it burdensome for low-income residents, he said. If the township collected the accounts, there would be no additional charges, he said. He explained that the agency was dropped April 5 and there are 294 delinquent accounts totaling more than $80,000.
Cumberledge added that he and the authority secretary contacted other Lawrence County townships and found six of them collect their own accounts.
Other issues
Supervisors also handled these matters:
Damon reported Lawrence County commissioners have not yet set up a meeting with supervisors to determine how they can afford to tear down a dilapidated Marine Corps barracks building on the county airport property.
Agreed to apply for grant money to pay the costs of testing for lead paint when children 6 and under live in township houses that undergo rehabilitation with Community Development Block Grant funds. The expensive testing is required by the government and is now deducted from the CDBG grant total.