Shipping containers subject of complaint at council meeting
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - Shipping containers line South Emerick Street as it becomes Abbatoir Road on Jan. 17, 2023.
SHENANDOAH – Shipping containers used in place of fencing at the impound lot for Talk Of Town towing on South Emerick was a subject of complaint and concern at Monday’s borough council meeting.
Talk Of Town rents a portion of the former Boly’s Iron Works plant at Emerick and Oak Streets from Felix and Frank Petrushonis to serve as the towing company’s impound lot.
The plant property was purchased in 2021 by the brothers, who own Pet Brothers, after a quarter-century of neglect by prior ownership since the ornamental iron manufacturer closed.
Talk Of Town rents the property across from the plant, between Emerick and Grant, and has cleared much of the brush and debris that built up over the years and installed fencing and other barricades to secure the lot.
Those barricades include shipping containers along Emerick Street as it turns into Abbatoir Road by the former “kiddie park.”
Mike Zulkowski, owner of Mr. Z’s Contracting in town, said he nearly struck the containers, which he said are in the road. He asked if the borough permitted the containers to be placed there.
“It seems like it’s out on the road,” Zulkowski told council. “My concern is, I missed it by six inches, is somebody else going to come down there, run into it, and get killed?”
Zulkowski also raised concerns that the shipping containers may be covering sewer lines and could obstruct repairs.
Dwight Williams, owner of Talk Of Town, said the containers are used to fence the lot and are an improvement from the previous state of the area. He also said surveillance cameras are installed on the containers.
“It was nothing but trash and everything dumped there,” Williams said.
According to the Schuylkill County Parcel Locator, the southern portion of the property along Emerick at Grant Street, where the shipping containers were located Tuesday, is owned by Reading Anthracite.
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