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Residents press Plains Township on school parking, sidewalks and 'rain tax' during public comment
Summary
Residents at the Dec. 12 Plains Township meeting urged enforcement of no-parking near the high school, raised pedestrian safety concerns on South Main Street and criticized the stormwater (rain) fee; officials said the fee funds storm-drain repairs and that police will study no-parking enforcement on Stadium Alley.
Several residents used the five-minute public-comment period at the Plains Township Board of Commissioners meeting on Dec. 12 to press officials on local safety and billing concerns.
Resident Mr. Bucknavage told commissioners he had photos showing parents parking along the guard rail on the high school side of Stadium Alley and said vehicles had blocked the alley during Thanksgiving. The board moved to request a police traffic study to prohibit parking along the guard rail; Commissioner Robert Sax and Commissioner Ciro Cinti sponsored the motion, which the board carried. "If you are going to be putting the no parking signs along the guard rail side and enforce them then I just want to say thank you," Bucknavage said.
Resident Joe Granteed raised three related issues: snow-plowing practices that he said damage roads when crews plow light snowfall, the lack of sidewalks on South Main Street near the high school—calling the route "dark and dangerous" for students—and the township's stormwater fee. "I was under the impression that the rain tax was going to be something that was shared, and now I feel like a fool," Granteed said, arguing that neighboring jurisdictions were not paying and that Plains residents should not be left bearing the cost.
Chairman Gerald J. Yozwiak and other commissioners defended the stormwater program as a source of reimbursements for infrastructure repairs, citing a recent $180,000 pipe replacement on River Street funded in part from that program. Yozwiak said the board had two members who voted against the program previously but that reimbursements help pay for storm-drain cleaning and repairs. Commissioners said they would raise the sidewalk and parking safety questions with the school administration and directed the police department to study parking restrictions for Stadium Alley.
The meeting record shows no immediate policy change to the stormwater fee; residents' concerns were entered into the public record and the board indicated follow-up actions.
