By John Kurtz, Item Correspondent

Shoemakersville Borough Council is in the process of removing a restriction from the borough’s property near the pool in order to sell a portion of the property.

“The restrictive covenant limits the use of the property to recreational purposes,” solicitor Keith Mooney said. “The area that council is looking to sell measures about .6 acres of the entire 4.75 acres.

“There will be a hearing on Oct. 7 in Berks County Court before a judge.”

On Aug. 11, a petition was filed by council to remove the covenant.

“This is a part of the property that council cannot forsee ever using,” councilman Brian Herbert said.

Councilwoman Amy Botright said that money received from the sale of the property would be used to upgrade the pool facilities.

In other news, Sgt. Michael Brownmiller, state police commander in Hamburg, said a traffic watch in the borough yielded 105 citations, including 42 written warnings over a 30-hour period that included two details.

“The citations included speeding, stop sign violations, inspection and registration violations among others,” Sgt. Brownmiller said. “All but one of the citations was written for (Shoemakersville) residents. The problem is in your town.

“With school starting you should also see a drop in nuisance crimes.”

The Hamburg barracks covers nine municipalities, according to Sgt. Brownmiller.

In other news, Mayor Richard Kepner asked council to post new signs in the park with the actual time that the park is to be cleared of pedestrian traffic.  

“Apparently people are not quite sure when dusk is and posting times even quarterly on the sign will make this clear,” Kepner said. “We have people in the park later than they should be.”

Council plans to get  a price for the signs before making a decision.

In other news, council agreed to pay Reading Site Contractors $39,726, which included an additional $1,529 for paving done on Seventh Street.

Kepner told council that if they are serious about bringing back the police department he has a location in mind that could serve as a location for the police and also a meeting hall.

Council met in executive session to hear Kepner’s idea and to also discuss the restrictive covenant. No further details were available.

Councilman Ben Parent was absent.

The next council meeting is Tuesday, Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. at St. Luke’s Church.