Railroad fence continues to be source of frustration

Advance correspondent

BRISTOL BOROUGH - Amtrak. Garden Street. Amtrak. Garden Street.

The mantra continues as the fence constructed earlier this year along the railroad banks and across the street from rows of well-kept homes, is, as many feared, nearly choked behind unchecked weeds, bushes and mini trees that have cropped up and remain untended.

The issue was raised again at Monday night’s council work session in Bristol Borough and it’s possible, council members hope, that Amtrak is thawing in its attitude toward meeting with borough officials and residents to resolve the issue, said Council President Ralph DiGuiseppe.

Councilmen Patrick Sabatini and Tony Devine have led opposition to the fence that Amtrak installed at the behest, Amtrak officials said, of the Department of Homeland Security. The transportation giant’s plans call for fencing all rail lines between Washington, D.C. and Boston.

Homeland Security later denied Amtrak’s claim, saying it was only the source for funding for the fencing.

Measures such as citing Amtrak for the outof-control vegetation are also on the table, DiGuiseppe said.

Next week’s council meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 10, instead of Monday. The board will vote on several issues, including whether to buy a new backhoe to replace the 16-year-old, rusted backhoe that street workers currently use. Borough maintenance chief George Waldron told the council that the bearing in the current backhoe have been replace four times.

“The backhoe is used for fighting snow, clearing leaves and xdownedz trees, and for many other jobs,” Waldron said. A new backhoe will cost the borough between $75,000 and $80,000, but borough Manager James Dillon said that he could “cobble together” enough money from various accounts to make the purchase in the next month or so.

“We don’t want to wait until January or February with the bad weather,” Dillon said.

The council will also decide whether to approve the purchase of a house at 1044 Chestnut Street, from HUD, at a cost of $51,000. The borough has been buying up homes on Chestnut and Elm streets as they become available with an eye toward future development.

In addition, there’s good news for borough sewer customers, bad news for some pet owners.

First the good newsW Bristol residents can now pay their sewer bills online, instead of mailing checks. The program has been available for the past month.

Now for the bad (if you’re a pet “hoarder”W Sabatini questioned whether there was an ordinance on how many dogs and cats are allowed per borough residence. Apparently there are several problems in town, including one on Pond Street, another on Elm.

DiGuiseppe said that state law limits pet ownership to five per house. Without giving specifics, Sabatini asked if borough inspector John Miller could look into the issue.

And a reminder that the holiday season is just around the corner came from a call from the council president for a “nice” Christmas Tree to be placed at the end of Mill Street during the holiday season.

“If someone owns a really nice tree - not a Charlie Brown tree - and would like to donate it, please call the borough” at 215-788-3828, he said.