Forty Fort Borough Council appoints Civil Service Commission member

FORTY FORT — Council voted to appoint a new member to the Civil Service Commission during a special meeting on Monday. The meeting was followed by a work session during which the board discussed a potential sidewalk ordinance and tree removal plan.

William Stone, who previously served as an alternate for the commission, was appointed as a full voting member at the special meeting.

Council member Sara Michaels abstained from voting due to her position as vice chair of the Civil Service Commission.

Stone filled the vacancy left by former Chairman Rob Swaback after he was removed from the commission at the last voting meeting for actions council solicitor Greg Skibitsky said prohibited the commission from doing its job of hiring police officers for the borough.

The special meeting was called because council needed to appoint someone to fill the vacancy within 30 days.

Steven Coslett, who also expressed interest in joining the commission, will be considered at the August meeting along with any other candidates to fill the open alternate position.

Work Session

During the work session that followed, council discussed ideas for a sidewalk ordinance that would give residents a set of requirements to follow when it comes to sidewalk maintenance.

As stated in a draft of the ordinance by Code Enforcement Officer Thomas Craig, there is nothing in the borough’s current ordinances that address issues such as pruning tress that hang low over the sidewalk or cutting back shrubs that overgrow onto the sidewalk.

The potential ordinance would also give residents certain guidelines to follow when conducting sidewalk construction, such as what material to use and how wide or narrow the sidewalk should be, as well as requirements for cutting curbs.

The full proposed ordinance can be viewed on the borough website at bit.ly/3WjLQx3 .

Council also discussed ideas for the potential removal of dangerous trees located on tree lawns that Mayor Thomas said pose a risk to residents and public works employees, who must go out and remove the trees on an emergency basis due to inclement weather like storms.

Thomas’s plan, which is simply a draft and not meant to be a the final version, included a process for the code enforcement officer to identify potentially dangerous trees and to notify residents that they must be removed or trimmed.

The potential plan also included an assistance program where the borough would cover 50% of the cost of removal up to a maximum of $1500.

At the meeting, Thomas also pointed out that the borough would look into potential grants to help fund the program.

All of the details regarding the plan are also available on the borough website, at the link listed above.

Council also discussed getting audio set up because residents had complained about not being able to hear council members during meetings as well as possibly recording meetings so that residents have access to them afterward.

Council will hold its next meeting at 6 p.m. on Aug. 5.