Council fails to overturn veto on street-sweeping law

Residents would have to move vehicles 44 times a year

PHOENIXVILLE » A vote to overturn Mayor Mike Speck’s September veto of a street-sweeping ordinance ended up in a tie at a recent borough council meeting, rendering it a failure and upholding Speck’s decision.

The proposed amendment to the borough’s motor vehicle and traffic ordinance would require residents on High Street, located on the borough’s north side, to remove their vehicles during the day most Fridays to allow for street-sweeping.

It unanimously passed in the Sept. 9 council meeting but Speck refused to sign the ordinance with the amendment attached.

Speck called that an “unnecessary and harsh burden on our residents” in a letter to the editor follow- ing the September meeting.

“I thought it would be an undue burden to residents to move their vehicles 44 times a year,” he explained during the Oct. 14 meeting.

North Ward councilmen Jon Ichter Jr. and Christopher Bauers felt otherwise and brought up a motion to override Speck’s veto in the October meeting.

Although Speck said he heard from residents opposed to the amendment, Ichter said that he only heard from two residents against it. Eventually, according to Ichter, they came around to the plan.