Leesport Borough Council questioned the reason behind the delay for completion of the Wall Street Bridge replacement project during their Feb. 21 meeting.
Council President Marty Goetz reported that he found out second hand that the bridge project was extended until next May.
“We were told this would go till December,” Goetz said.
“This is not going to sit well once this gets out,” Goetz added. “I would like to see everybody notified in our borough, Centre, Ontelaunee, and Bern who’s going to deal with this bridge being out. Why they (PennDOT) gave this extension, nobody can give an answer why. This is ridiculous.”
Goetz urged everyone to send letters to their representatives demanding answers.
“We can’t even get an answer from the one top supervisor about what happened. What I want to know is, when are we going to get done.”
Goetz went on by stating that the telephone number for PennDOT is the borough website and urged those affected to call them and not the borough office.
“It’s not our project, it’s a state project. Somebody dropped the ball.”
Goetz concluded by stating that a number of other projects are planned that are contingent on the completion of bridge project and that a delay here, delays other projects.
Council Vice President Charles Burger stated “if there was a legitimate reason, because of this or the other thing, then you can accept the extension. This doesn’t make sense.”
In other news, Councilman Ron Strause motioned to contract Folk Paving to overlay Reservoir Circle and Conifer Road as described in the estimate not to exceed $13,350. A roll call vote passed unanimously. Strause also stated street sweeping is scheduled for May 3 and May 4.
Councilman David J. Reimer Sr. reported that he received a copy of a police report documenting damage done by a vehicle driving in the field behind the swimming pool. The matter has been turned over to the insurance company.
Reimer also read a statement from the recreation board that “acknowledged all the hard work and dedication the Schuylkill Valley Little League has shown in their upkeep of the baseball fields and has waived the requirement to reimburse for the electric used during the 2018 season.”
Councilman Reimer then introduced and urged council to consider CodeRED, an easy and efficient critical communication notification service, capable of reaching citizens in minutes.
“This solution is already being used by a number of neighboring communities. Right now, when we need to get a message out to our residents, we really don’t have a good way of doing it. This will do the job and quick, too,” said Reimer.
The matter was tabled until the March meeting when a vote is expected.
In other news, Elaine Strause provided an update on the Leesport Lock House master bed renovation project being done as an Eagle Scout project.
“He’s done a lot of patch work and scrapped the floor,” Strause said. “There’s a place behind the door that shows all the different colors the room was painted. It’s just about done.”
The project should be completed sometime in March.
Mayor Granville Sandridge reported that Northern Berks Police has a new officer on their roster. This is in addition to the officer that was hired last month.
“They’re both ex-Marines. They both have a good background, you can really tell,” Sandridge said.
“They’re good officers,” he added. “They go by the book. We have a darn good police force.”
