(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)
The city of Beaver Falls’ council spent a small part of their Valentines’ Day–roughly 45 minutes–showing love to their city at their regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday night.
The feeling was less romantic out of the gate, however. An ordinance that would officially establish the city’s administrative code as to that of a home rule charter was tabled due to the extensive contents of the code not being fully read by council staff. Mayor Kenya Johns insisted that the resolution be tabled until the February 28 meeting, despite the additional advertising fees making the announcement official.
Councilmember John “Chuckie” Kirkland was set to table the resolution, but momentarily rescinded once he realized about the additional fees. Other members were less sanguine: “I get more and more confused…it makes me feel stupid,” lamented councilmember Leonard Chiappetta in regards to the extensive code. “It’s like throwing a stone at a beehive…everything comes at you.” After the discussion, the council approved the tabling of the ordinance until the following meeting, and Mayor Johns said that she would pay the advertising fees for the announcement.
Following that, the remainder of the agenda was approved rather hastily. Two property sales to Darrin Cole were approved unanimously by council, located on 14th Avenue as well as 19th Street. The council also approved the demolition of seven properties in agreement with the Redevelopment Authority of Beaver County in conjunction with the Reclaim Project. The seven properties are located at the following addresses (all in Beaver Falls):
- 13 Bridge Street
- 15 Bridge Street
- 817 3rd Avenue
- 1514 3rd Avenue
- 1824 6th Avenue Rear
- 1931 6th Avenue
- 1312-1314 10th Avenue
General fund and Payroll expenditures totaling $563,604.67 (including two payrolls) were unanimously approved by council. A repository purchase for a property on 9th Avenue was tabled due to the purchaser not being in attendance, putting the Beaver Falls City Council in the rarified company of persons managing to obtain multiple tables on Valentines’ Day.
On a more sobering note, Fire Chief Mark Stowe spoke about the experiences of him and his staff at the Beaver Falls Fire Department in assisting in the train derailment that occurred in East Palestine on February 5. Stowe described a “chaotic scene” where the blazes were unlike any the department had ever seen, while also noting that the equipment had been contaminated with the chemicals that were released into the atmosphere during the assistance. He noted that Norfolk Southern, whose train it was that derailed, would financially reimburse the department for man hours.
Stowe said that no firefighters were immediately injured, but that concerns lie in the aftermath of breathing in the vinyl chloride chemicals for multiple days. “I will say that all of our firefighters were out there for days…had a cough, sore throat, and things because of the chemicals that were in the air,” Stowe added. “We pray that there’s not going to be any long-term effects.” Stowe commended his staff for their hard work, and Mayor Johns returned the words in kind to the fire chief and his staff.
City Manager Charles Jones announced that there will be a traffic study by PennDOT in Eastvale following an accident that occurred in January involving a car colliding into a residence, with the hope and intent to establish safety boundaries in that area. Jones also announced that there will be a “wallbreaking” ceremony for the BHIVE on 7th Avenue on Friday, February 17 at 11:00 AM, and that nearby Library Park is planning to complete construction in early April.
The next Beaver Falls City Council meeting is scheduled for February 28 at 7:00 PM at the city building.
