Borough councilman seeks ‘war on trash’ dumping in town
SHENANDOAH – For the past few years, illegal dumping has made lesser-travelled thoroughfares in the borough, like South Vine Street at West Poplar, and East Poplar near the former Martin Shirt factory, unsightly.
One councilman, Vice President Mike “Zeckie” Uholik, asked the rest of the body to declare “war on the trash” dumping in town.
The request came after council mulled, at the request of Code Enforcement Officer Mark Pronio, and Law and Order Committee Chair Michael Whitecavage, the purchase of trail cameras for dumping hotspots.
Whitecavage made a motion to hand the matter to the finance committee to explore the costs.
“We have a lot of illegal dumping in the borough, the borough is going to clean up these areas, and when we do that, these trail cameras are going to come in very handy to help catch some of these rascals that are re-dumping in the same areas,” Whitecavage said.
Illegal dumping has become more and more prevalent in the region, especially as trash companies, and residents who haul their own trash, face exorbitant tipping fees at area transfer stations.
In August, dumpers chose to use the entrance to the Ringtown Valley Scenic View and, when a name was found in the trash, the apparent dumpers were located and made to clean the mess up.
Prominent hotspots in the borough itself have included the roadside on South Vine Street at the corner before West Poplar, the former United Wiping Cloth building on East Lloyd, and aside the former Martin Shirt factory on East Poplar, as well as various locations on abandoned mine lands surrounding town.
Borough Manager Tony Sajone stressed fiscal responsibility, especially considering tipping costs on a limited budget.
Pronio also asked for guidance on how to respond to calls, who would order a cleanup in a dumping situation, and who would do it.
“We’re not going to be able to clean this all up at once, we’re not going to be able to afford it,” Whitecavage said. “But we need to start somewhere.”
He said that cleaning up every single problem area would “blow the budget out of the water.” Gawrylik echoed the sentiment of fiscal responsibility.
Whitecavage also said that Sajone would be the point person for directing who would clean up an area on behalf of the borough.
Pronio also said that the borough can clean up a nuisance area, such as trash dumped on a porch, and charge the property owner $60/hr per worker cleaning up.
“The problem is, I have health and safety violations, 16 open cases, all of them guilty, they’re paying $5 a month and the trash is building up,” Pronio said. He said the only other option would be to clean it up via borough worker or contractor and file a lien on the property.
Pronio also stressed the importance of eyewitness reports of dumping, which can lead to a $500 fine for the offender.
He also said that the trail cameras should act as a deterrent and, anyone who is caught could be publicized.
“We’ve got to clean it up, it’s bad,” Pronio said.
“We now have a proactive code enforcement officer,” Whitecavage said. “And I would say a proactive council that we haven’t heard talked about in this town, which the people really need.”
“I’m tired of people just dumping junk on my street just like all of you are,” Whitecavage added. “We’re living next to it, we see it, we need to stop it.”
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