KULPMONT - After listening to the complaints of residents month after month, Kulpmont Borough Council directed code enforcement officer John Timm to start cracking down on code offenders, tenants and landlords in the borough.
Kulpmont mayor Myron Turlis, council president Bruno Varano and several others on council and in the community spoke at council's meeting Tuesday night after continued complaints about garbage, animal smells and other problems.
"You have been citing them, but it's not doing any good," said resident Steve Bielski, of Scott Street. "If John would file a disruptive conduct report, they can be evicted after three reports."
Turlis then quoted the borough's rental property ordinance, passed in 2010, outlining the terms of eviction.
"If there are three violations of the ordinance within 12 months, or three or more disruptive conduct reports are issued and the tenant is evicted, that tenant cannot rent another property in the borough for a period of one year, and the property cannot be rented out until the problems are corrected or for a period of six months, whichever comes first," Turlis said.
"Many of these tenants that we have problems with are on HUD funding. We give a call to them, you see how fast the landlord reacts," Varano said.
"I'll be the first person to make that call," said Stephanie Niglio, head of Kulpmont's ordinance committee and the spearhead of the cause to clean up the borough.
In other business
The board hired Tri-County Council of Governments to be the borough's new building inspector, replacing Tom Nowroski. The cost is a $200 initial sign-up fee and a $200 annual membership fee. The move was approved on a 4-0 vote with Varano, Niglio, Philip Scicchitano and Nicholas Bozza voting for the change. Council members Stephen Motyka, Clarence Deitrick and Joseph Winhofer were absent.
In his report, Turlis said Northumberland Memorial Park was given a 60-day solicitation permit to conduct door-to-door selling of cemetery plots, beginning this month.
Turlis also discussed people painting yellow lines on their sidewalks and in front of garages to discourage parking without the borough's permission.
"From now on, anyone who does that will be responsible for the borough's cost of removing the paint and will possibly be subject to a citation," Turlis said.
Bozza, chairman of the board's service and facilities committee, informed residents that, weather permitting, borough workers will seal cracks on streets after the street sweeper passes on April 25 and 26. He asked residents not to park on the swept streets until the sealing is complete.
Kulpmont's monthly food surplus distribution will be held from 8 a.m. to noon Friday, April 19.
The board also voted to purchase 35 American flags for $333.27 through Congressman Lou Barletta's office. The flags will be flown on Chestnut Street for the summer. The borough is also soliciting donations from local veterans organizations to help pay for the flags.