Big Run puts 10-ton weight limit on Mitchell Avenue

BIG RUN — Big Run Borough Council passed an ordinance during Monday’s meeting that established a 10-ton weight limit on Mitchell Avenue and required the road to be bonded in order for vehicles above the weight limit to use it.

Council member Carol Bergman asked if the ordinance would impact Dollar General. Council member George Bedell said it pertains to traffic over 10 tons. He said Dollar General would have to abide by the ordinance as well.

Bergman asked if the ordinance pertained to the stretch of Mitchell Avenue between Route 119 and

Brown Street. Bedell said it would be the total length, which would be 700 feet at most. He said the borough couldn’t pave all of Mitchell Avenue because it couldn’t get the funds.

Bergman asked how long Mitchell Avenue had been in existence. Bedell said he didn’t know and it didn’t matter according to the law. Bergman asked how often the borough has had to fix the street. Bedell said they have had to repair it several times. She asked if the borough wanted to have Star Iron Works give them money for street repair. Bedell said if they have trucks that are over 10 tons, they have to get a bond. He said the borough doesn’t get that money. Bergman asked who did.

Bedell said the engineer was working on answering that question. He said the PennDOT engineer recommended getting the road bonded.

Bergman asked how much the bond was going to be. Bedell said he doubted it would be that much as there isn’t that much footage, maybe 600-700 feet. He said the application fee is $50.

Bergman said she didn’t think there was any way for Star Iron Works to get their trucks into their parking area without going down Mitchell Avenue. Blair Kriner said they could use Caroline Street to get to their parking lot.

Franklin Stockdale Jr., Star Iron Works, said the most direct, applicable, most reasonable way to enter their address is to use Mitchell Avenue. He said Brown Street is a not an option for tractor trailer traffic. He said they would have to consider safety concerns in regard to using Caroline Street, and they would have to change their operations. He said the company has been located on Mitchell Avenue for more than 30 years. He said ordinarily these kinds of ordinances have an exemption for local deliveries, including local commercial deliveries. He said the deliveries made to Star Iron Works would fall under that exemption. He said the ordinance they are considering does not provide for those exemptions.

He said he had talked to Run

HELP WANTED the council members over the weekend and the thing he heard was that Star Iron Works is “aloof and not involved.” He said they do keep a low profile, but they donate to the Peepers Banquet every year, and they had just moved rocks that were donated to the cemetery, among other things. He said they also try to lessen their impact and reduce noise at night.

He said the other concrete issue is that these ordinances are for temporary logging and mining operations that cause direct, specific damage to the road without contributing to the tax base. He said that is not what is happening.

Bedell said that is exactly what is happening. Stockdale said Star Iron Works has been on Mitchell Avenue for three decades and none of the council members, when he spoke to them, could remember any resurfacing work done in that time period. He said he acknowledges that the road is in poor shape, but it is in the condition one would expect from 30 years of normal wear and tear. He said he thinks that there is evidence that the road condition is not from excess traffic from Star Iron Works, but normal wear and tear.

Bedell said if he would drive around town, Mitchell Avenue would be the only street that is in that condition.

Stockdale said it is not about the condition the road is in, but whether it was caused by excess damage. He said Bedell indicated to him that there is an extra cost associated with fixing the road, which he said was due to excess traffic from Star Iron Works. He said the engineering that the borough received did not say that the state of the road was due to excess traffic. He said the report is extremely vague and makes no specific finding on whether the traffic from Star Iron Works is the cause of the damage. He said the ordinance only applies from Route 119 to Brown Street.

Bedell said the permit price is $6,000 per mile. He said Mitchell Avenue would be a little less than one tenth of a mile. Bedell said the borough has the authority and the right to put a weight limit on any street. He said they have patched the street several times, and the patching didn’t last. He said they have to protect the street, as they did not have the money to pave it again. He said it cost $100,000 to pave it. He said they never completed the whole thing, but they did put a top coat on it. He said that will not hold up under 12-ton trucks.

Bergman asked how often they have to repair the road, and if they don’t have to do it often, why they would put a bond in place. Bedell said the water table is rising and would contribute to the damage. He said for the price of the permit for the footage, it makes good sense to put the weight limit in place. He said many towns have weight limits on their streets.

Mac Irvin asked how often the bond had to be renewed. Secretary Dawn Kopp said every year. She said the permit fee would be approximately $850 including the permit.

Stockdale said getting the bond wasn’t the issue. He said the ordinance targets something that is not going on.

“Traffic causes wear and tear. Roads pothole. The question before you is whether it is excess damage and is it caused by Star Iron. And that is what we don’t have,” Stockdale said.

Bedell said they have to protect the roads in the borough and they need to start somewhere. He said he never saw that street get as damaged as it is before Star Iron Works moved in. He said the county engineers said they can’t give the borough funds to pave the street because of the condition.

Bergman said she doesn’t like the ordinance because it targets Star

Iron Works and there are still too many questions surrounding the ordinance.

Kopp asked if it was the future plan to bond all the streets in the borough as they pursue grants for paving. Bedell said it was. She said the population and tax base of Big Run is decreasing and the cost of road maintenance is increasing exponentially.

Mayor Joe Buterbaugh asked Stockdale to put himself in the borough’s position. Stockdale acknowledged that the borough is in a tough position, but they just don’t have the causation and the ordinance does not make sense.

Bedell said they will consult with their engineers and solicitor and if they say that a weight limit is inappropriate, they will take it off.

Kriner said they are just looking to the future. He said if they have a bond, 10 years down the road they will have a nest egg to turn to.Irvin said he does

not think the ordinance targets anyone and agreed they need to look to the future. He said he thought the bond would cost more, but he doesn’t feel that it cost a lot.

The council passed the ordinance, with Bedell, Irvin, and Kriner voting yes and Bergman and Elijah Hollopeter voting no.