DALTON — At the Nov. 14 borough council meeting, Cheryl Ellsworth, trail coordinator of Countryside Conservancy, recalled the council signing a resolution in April 2018 to give the conservancy a trail easement between Cherry Street and Brookside Road.
She also mentioned that engineer John Seamans was going to do a legal description and survey to put in a couple of parking spaces. She said she has the remainder of the grant from DCNR (Department of Conservation and Natural Resources) to extend the funds next spring.
“What we had hoped was to be able to put in a couple of parking spaces off of Cherry (Street), where the borough owns, and extend it (trail) over to Brookside (Drive),” Ellsowrth said. “In order to do that, the state requires that we would have a signed easement. Although we have the resolution, we need the legal description and the survey.”
Ellsworth asked if Seamans completed the legal description, to which councilman Eric Johnson replied Seamans had completed the legal description and a survey map, which were reviewed and agreeable to the council.
“We signed a resolution at that time to move forward with the contingency of that joint land use agreement that we wanted to have drafted and signed between the borough, between the Holberts, who also have access to that property, and through Countryside Conservancy,” Johnson said.
Johnson added that Solicitor Frank Bolock and Seamans will finalize the joint land use agreement. Ellsworth asked to contact her or Attorney Ty Welles to send her a draft of the land use agreement.
In other business …
• In his president’s report, Councilman Bill Brandt announced Dalton’s tree lighting ceremony is set for Friday, Nov. 29 and will be handled by the Dalton Fire Company.
• In his public works report, Brandt said the council is putting up a temporary facility for its salt.
“We have been using one of our community’s (salt shed) locally,” he said. “We’re going to be having our own up at the fire company property, and the fire company’s been nice enough to use some of the property up there.”
• In his safety/grants report, Johnson announced the planning commission is looking into applying for grant assistance in 2020 for improvements of Streamside Park. He said the planning commission wants to potentially expand the park with nature trails and educational facilities into the Novak property.
• In his zoning/planning report, Johnson said the planning commission will meet with Environmental Planning & Design, consultant of SAPA, this month to find two potential land uses within the borough.
• In his health and sanitation report, Brandt mentioned the council held an opening of the sanitation bids. He said Waste Management and Mascaro & Sons both placed bids and that the council needs a billing situation figured out so it can bill the constituents on a quarterly basis. He said there will be more information about that next month.
• In his solicitor’re report, Bolock said he brought the two bid proposals for the refuse and recycling bids. He added that bidders Waste Management and Mascaro & Sons were given the alternate bids and the option to do billing.
“One of the bidders Mascaro & Sons bid a billing component,” he said. “Waste Management didn’t provide any numbers for billing.”
• In new business. Johnson mentioned the two “Welcome to Dalton” signs, which are displayed on the east and west sides of Route 6 & 11, need to be maintained. He said that, since the signs are made of wood and the paint is now faded, it would not be feasible to improve them. He recommended replacing them with a long-lasting material.
“I’m just looking for approval to move forward with going and soliciting bids and proposals from several local businesses that do this,” he said.
Johnson said DPW can install the signs. but he asked for a motion to solicit price quotes from at least three different sign companies in an event the council has to budget funds available for it. The council approved this motion.
