Borough council discusses trash ordinance

Berlin Council met for its monthly meeting Thursday, June 13 to make the public aware of multiple projects ongoing within the borough, while also addressing resident concerns regarding a trash ordinance.

An ordinance states that owners of residential buildings and premises cannot “place, keep and/or store a trash or recycle container or cart in the front area of the principal dwelling or building.”

A borough resident spoke during public comment, stating she recently received a violation notice for where she had been storing cans at her residence in the front of the building.

After checking the borough’s website, she saw that residents have come to council earlier in the year in hopes of solving the problem, but conversation on the issue quickly fell apart.

Multiple residents of townhomes in the borough have received violations in recent months, and are looking to council for a solution due to not having a satisfactory location to store trash and recycling bins.

After Councilmen Len Badolato and Mike Buchanan had said they would meet with concerned residents during council’s April 11 meeting, residents did not reach back out to the councilmen for a solution to the problem. Since another resident has presented the problem to council, council President Jim Pearce says they hope to be able to find a solution.

“We really are trying to find out what’s going to work best,” said Pearce. “This group does believe in listening to its residents.”

The citizen said that the residents of her specific townhome location have no access to their backyards.

Badolato said council understands that the current ordinance is not ideal for residents of these townhomes, and was open to working toward a solution when it addressed the problem over two months ago.

“We realize that it’s not perfect for every place or every person, we realize that,” said Badolato. “We listened to their concerns and agreed that there is a problem.”

In other news:

• Badolato reported the borough sent proposals back to the state regarding potential solutions regarding traffic-calming at crosswalks along the White Horse Pike.
• The Downtown Berlin Revitalization Corp. will be meeting at The Vault Tuesday, June 25 regarding future programs it would like to host at The Dill House.
• Councilman Andy Simone continued the discussion of recycling problems across the state. He says the borough is planning to distribute a mailer reminding residents of what can and cannot be recycled to avoid fines and alleviate the financial burden on the borough.
• T.J. Varano of the Berlin Borough Police Department was promoted to lieutenant, and Josh Smith was promoted to sergeant. Both were sworn in to their positions during the meeting.
• Officer of the Month for June was Officer Alfred Hess.
• Pearce said the borough sent the state a resolution in support of a left-turn signal and left-turn lanes at the intersection of the White Horse Pike and Franklin Avenue. Although the state Department of Transportation is responsible for work, it had simply requested documents to show the borough supports the work to move forward. Pearce said the borough will now wait to hear back from the state on when changes at the intersection can be made.
• Councilman Rick Miller said a mock version of a new borough website has been completed, and he hopes to have a beta test available in the coming weeks.
• Councilman Mike Buchanan reminded residents and council that the increase in recycling fees are almost entirely due to problems with where recyclable materials can be sent. Ideally, he said further education at Berlin Community School could help alleviate some problems.