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Borough describes extensive response to late‑spring storm; council discusses power resiliency and undergrounding options
Summary
After a severe storm and extended outages, borough staff summarized response efforts — tree crew calls, traffic signal impacts, and coordination with West Penn Power — and councilmembers raised questions about longer‑term power resiliency and undergrounding lines.
Borough Manager Tom Fontaine briefed council on the municipal response to a severe late‑spring storm that left many residents without power and caused widespread tree and signal damage.
Fontaine said borough public‑works crews responded to more than 40 tree locations (excluding Penn State campus areas), repaired or managed 15 out‑of‑service traffic signals, and logged roughly 475 public‑works staff hours responding to the event. He noted that some signals were not equipped for generator backup and that one school sign sustained damage requiring extended repair.
Fontaine complimented West Penn Power’s restoration effort and said the utility mobilized mutual‑aid crews from multiple states. The borough temporarily adjusted solid‑waste collection rules to allow up to two extra bags curbside to help residents dispose of storm‑damaged materials and asked residents to use bulk‑pickup for large quantities.
Several councilmembers thanked staff and first responders for their work. Councilmember Balchandran urged the borough to start studying longer‑term resilience measures, including the feasibility of moving distribution lines underground to reduce future storm vulnerability. Fontaine acknowledged the scale of such projects and said staff would explore options and report back.
Council also encouraged residents to use borough reporting tools for bulk pickups and storm damage so crews can prioritize work.
