Weeds Along Borough Roads Irk Whitehall Council Members

Weed 'Em Out

If weeds from private property are spreading out and covering public roadways, who should be responsible for cutting them down?

Whitehall Borough Councilman Robert McKown brought up the topic at Wednesday night's council meeting. McKown said that he's noticed high grass and other shrubs crowding both lanes of travel along Curry Road in the southern part of Whitehall.

"It's actually impeding upon the travel area of the road," McKown said, citing safety concerns. "You can't even see the curbs anymore."

McKown suggested that Whitehall's Public Works employees travel both sides of Curry and cut down the weeds that have moved past private property lines. He also wants those properties' owners to be contacted about maintaining their weeds.

"It's a perception thing," McKown said. "It looks terrible."

He also said that the gravel inside of the parking lot by the Whitehall Elementary School fields is finding its way onto Curry, as well.

"I ride a motorcycle," he said, "and I go down that road. And that's a very dangerous situation with gravel like that on the road. We need to try to address (these things)."

Fellow Councilman Philip Lahr agreed, especially with the weeds issue, calling it "an ongoing problem." Lahr said that weeds are crowding traffic lanes on East Lawnview Avenue, as well, and that notifying property owners with letters may not be enough.

Lahr said that borough officials should give property owners some time to respond to those letters, but if they don't, it might be time for them to visit District Magistrate David J. Barton.

"You have to do it yourself, or you go to the judge if you don't," Lahr said.

Borough Manager James E. Leventry said that notifying some property owners with pre-citation letters has worked at times in the past.

"Some people—very nice," Leventry said. "Other ones—until they get that (citation) notice, they don't do anything."

Added McKown, "Send a notice to maintain it. If they don't maintain it, they're not gonna get another nice letter; they're gonna get a citation and go before the magistrate.

"That's the way you have to deal with it if they're gonna be stubborn enough not to maintain their property."

McKown suggested that borough workers should be able to cut down weeds on private property with owners' permission, with the costs for doing so being pushed onto the owners.

No action was taken on Wednesday regarding this discussion.

Fall Fest at Caste Village

Also on Wednesday, Councilman Harold Berkoben promoted the borough's Fall Fest carnival, which will run at Caste Village from from Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 4-6, from 6-11 p.m.

Admission to the event is free, and entertainment will be provided by DJ Steve Maffei Jr. and Dance Workshop by Shari (both on Thursday), The Stickers (Friday) and Velveeta (Saturday).

Other attractions include games, amusement rides and community booths. Food is available for purchase.

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