Sewage Authority Urges Customer Hook-up

Ford City Sewage Authority members Jennie Morgan, Terry Tokarek and Zoltar Kupas listen to Engineer David Nichols about possible consequences to residents not connecting to the new sewage system soon.

by Jonathan Weaver

Contractors within S&E Contracting continue to finalize a major sewage project in Ford City, but are lacking customer response to finish.

At a meeting of the Ford City Municipal Sewage Disposal Authority last night, officers learned the first portion of the project should be nearly-completed, but half of the residents are not yet connected to the new sewer line.

Plant Superintendent James Smerick announced the news.

“Approximately 50 percent of Area 1 – being 3^rd Avenue and both sides of 4^th Avenue and the 300-block of 14^th Street – was given a letter to proceed on May 20, so the 90 days is August 20, and right now we have just over 50 percent completed,” Smerick said. “In order to get these sidewalks back in and move to get this project completed, we need to come up with something to move people along. 46.35 52 out of 105 are not good numbers when you’re one week from your 90 days.”

The only section close to completion is the 1300-block of 4^th Avenue on the east side, with one house needing to hook-up to the new line.

While Authority Vice-President Zoltar Kupas asked about repercussions to the entity if sidewalks are not completed before the proposed end of work by contractors October 3, Authority President Terry Tokarek suggested giving residents more opportunity.

“Before we take legal action, maybe we should just communicate with these people – maybe a phone call, I’d be willing to do that – to see what’s going on and then go from there – maybe a letter, not a threatening letter, just saying ‘What are we doing here?,” Tokarek said. “Maybe some of them got their letter and they don’t even know what they got.

“Give them a chance to come forward,” Tokarek said.

Engineer David Nichols pointed out another reason why it is important residents follow the given timeline.

“Right now, we have a sanitary sewer and a combined sewer, but they come back together and come to the sewage plant,” Nichols said. “When these people are all disconnected from the combined sewer, that will be diverted entirely to the river, no longer pumped to the sewage plant. Even if we have one house connected to that, we’d be in violation of the Clean Streams Law because it would be sending raw sewage everyday to the river.

“These are the people on the front end – the people we’re about to send a notice to for 90 days are going to be looking at September, October, November – do we have the same leverage? Its kind-of like setting a precedent here,” Nichols said.

The Clean Streams Law was introduced in 1937.

Kupas added to Nichols’ comments.

“If we keep giving them a week, a week, a week, a week, it ends up being another 60-90 days,” Kupas said.

Smerick offered to help knock-on doors with Tokarek, but said something has to be done – and soon.

“At some point in time, though, those houses do need to be tied in,” Smerick said.

A special meeting is to be held next week about the issue because Solicitor Frank Wolfe was not present at the meeting.

Ford City customers can contact the sewage authority at P.O. Box 66, Ford City, Pa. 16226 or by calling 724-763-1111.

Authority members also approved for an audit to be done on their H20-PA grant funding. The entity received $785,000 in grant funding and all has been received.

Nichols explained why the state required the audit.

“They want to make sure the grant money they sent you is used for the purposes we requested it – they will go through our list of invoices and checks from the PennVest account and verify that,” Nichols said.

The audit will be completed by Certified Public Accountant Richard Hill of Merge and Hill, LLC in Tarentum on an unknown date.

State officials told the entity of the requirement through letter August 2.

Ford City Moves Ahead With Final Demolition of Building 228

by David Croyle

A proposed sale of another portion of the former PPG factory building in Ford City will result in additional businesses in the borough.

Last night, Ford City Borough Council discussed the plan to demolish a section of the building owned by Dennis Tiche. Tiche has been operating an industrial salvage business at that location.

The building caught fire on Thursday, June 23, when demolition crews were using cutting torches to remove existing equipment in the building.

Council President John Lux described the sale of the building as “pending” and could give only sketchy details.

“Whole section of the PPG building still standing down by where KPM is, down to O Connor Street – that whole section is coming down. Someone purchased it. They hired Tom Sipes to do demolition on the building. They don’t want information out at this time. It is pretty much final, but there are some loose ends to tie up. Once that is done they will make announcement.”

Lux said that demolition was scheduled to start next week, but has been delayed.

“There was a hold up, probably not for couple more weeks yet. He wants to have whole thing down by end of year.”

Lux said the delay happened due to questions regarding the deed not being properly recorded.

Mayor Marc Mantini said that the Sipes Demolition organization has secured all pertinent papers to begin demolition.

Lux said that once the Tiche building is demolished, new ownership plans a revitalization of the property.

“It can be potential jobs. People tearing building down will be putting businesses in.”

Lux said that Tiche still owns another building in the Mac Park industrial area.

“Mr Tiche still owes the building that is back along the riverbank. Everything along Second Avenue – he sold all of that.”

While Sipes is waiting to begin demolition, he offered to tear down the last part of the borough-owned Building 228 section.

The last approximately 25-feet of the old Building 228 was left standing to give structural integrity to Tiche’s building because it was all part of the same complex when it was owned by PPG. Tiche had wanted the borough to erect a retaining wall, but the borough refused and left a section of the Building 228 standing instead.

Lux was in favor of the demolition.

“It was a section we left up to keep from building a wall at the end of Tiche’s building. We would have wasted $150,000 to build a wall. Now it is coming down anyway.”

Councilman Ron Dillard had concerns, since there was not a written agreement in place for the demolition of final section of the borough-owned property.

“I wouldn’t suggest we do that because of liability issues unless we have something in writing. It is always a liability for the Borough for someone operating on its property.”

Councilman Paul Harmon made the motion to permit Sipes to tear down the remaining structure once an agreement has been signed and insurance paperwork is in place. All of Council agreed.

Mayor Mantini vouched for Mr. Sipes’ integrity, telling Council that the demolition company recently tore down the former the Howard Johnson hotel in Monroeville where UPMC is building a new facility.

The Ford City Borough Council meeting will be rebroadcast today at 1:00 PM on WTYM AM 1380 radio.