Borough Council agrees to rescind sidewalk improvement requirements

LEWISTOWN - Several residents of Fifth Street in Lewistown presented the Lewistown Borough Council with their complaints regarding sidewalk improvements, on Monday during the council's regular meeting.

Residents living on streets that are slated for repaving were notified by mail if their sidewalks were not in compliance with standards taken from the Americans with Disabilities Act, which states that sidewalks should not be more than half-an-inch uneven. According to the letter, residents have until April to complete the work or they could be facing fines for noncompliance.

Fred Thompson, who lives along Fifth Street, said his sidewalk and many of the sidewalks along the block he lives on are not in as poor of a condition as other sidewalks in Lewistown - including those surrounding the Municipal Building on Third Street and other borough properties.

"Almost everyone here has one that is out of compliance," Thompson said, referring to the houses of the council members. "This is an intolerable situation - you (council) have one (sidewalk) out here (Third Street) that is out of compliance."

Thompson continued, "Why would you pick our block, when we can go to other parts of the borough and find worse?"

Most members of the council expressed their agreement with Thompson and offered him and the other residents gathered at the meeting a solution to their complaints.

A motion was brought forward that rescinded the letter to residents mandating they fix their sidewalks, directed borough staff to continue to work on area curbs in relation to paving, revise the tone of the letter used and to send the issue to the law and ordinance committee.