West Chester may loosen snow shoveling law
WEST CHESTER»West Barnard Street homeowner Ed Lotkowski might just be living proof that the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
Lotkowski launched a one-man campaign to change the way the borough cites those with unshoveled sidewalks, following a snowstorm, after he received a citation from District Court two weeks after a Dec. 10 snowfall. The borough is listening. Lotkowski said he shoveled his, and his neighbor’s sidewalk, who was not cited, and received a $25 citation in the mail two weeks later. With municipal court costs of $89.71, the fee jumped to $114.71.
Lotkowski is not fighting the fact that the walk might not have been properly shoveled, but the municipal court fee. Property owners are required to shovel sidewalks on their property within 24 hours of a precipitation event.
Lotkowski contacted all seven council members, the borough manager and the mayor. He also called about 10 municipalities including, Exton, Downingtown, Kennett Square, Doylestown, Towanda, and Allentown.
The pharmacist said that no municipality he contacted tacks on the municipal court fee at the onset.
“You don’t pay the ticket, yes we go to district court, but nobody sends the tickets to district court right away,” he said about how other municipalities he contacted handle the issue.
“I challenge (Borough Manager) Mike Perrone, the borough solicitor, the mayor and council to identify one municipality in Pennsylvania that handles citations in the exact same way as West Chester,” Lotkowski said.
Mayor Dianne Herrin said that the borough will address the matter at the Feb. 14 Public Safety, Events and Quality of Life Committee meeting. She encourages residents to attend the 5:30 p.m. meeting at the relocated Borough Paoli Pike.
Herrin said that the borough is considering issuing tickets prior to issuing a court citation.
The borough will also mull over issuing warnings prior to issuing tickets.
Lotkowski’s citation arrived in his mail box two weeks after the storm.
Herrin said that public safety is critical.
“We need quick action after we issue a ticket,” Herrin said.
Former Mayor Jordan Norley also received a citation when his walk was not shoveled more than 24 hours following a storm. He had made plans to have the walk shoveled, but the task “slipped through the cracks,” Norley said.
The former mayor, who was a member of borough council at the time, said that during a routine criminal background check, the failure to shovel appeared on his record.
“I was super-surprised that it showed up,” Norley Hall on said.
Lotkowski’s municipal court hearing is scheduled for Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, and he intends to take time off from work and plead innocent.
“You can print my picture in the paper and put ‘Guilty’ across my face,” he said with a smile. “I’m a scofflaw.
“Is this really what the borough wants to accomplish?” he asked. “This is why people hate government on the most basic level—the borough level.
“This is why Donald Trump got elected—because people hate government. This is bad government at its most basic level.”
Lotkowski said West Chester is good town, with neighbors who support each other.
“I try to do a little to help people—take the trash out, shovel and fix stuff,” he said. “I would have been cognizant if somebody knocked on my door.
“I don’t want anybody fall on my sidewalk.” to