City Council is working to answer questions nearby residents have about abandoning a street in Jamestown.
Monday, a public hearing was held before the regularly scheduled voting session, to discuss abandoning Aldren Avenue. Several residents of Lutheran's Edgewood Communities attended the hearing, as did residents from Second Street.
During the meeting, several people spoke of their concerns surrounding abandoning Aldren, between Second Street and Falconer Street. Primarily, residents were concerned they would be unable to access the plaza on Second Street, should Aldren Avenue become abandoned.
Article Photos
Aldren Avenue, which has been closed to the public for several months, was the subject of a public hearing before Monday’s City Council meeting.
P-J photo by Liz Skoczylas
"We discussed it, and then it went to the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission recommended the abandonment," said Greg Rabb, council president, D-At Large.
The street has been shut down for most of the summer, due to public safety concerns. Aside from needing repairs, the road is very steep when accessed from Second Street.
According to Jeff Lehman, director of Public Works, the cost to repair the road would be nearly $150,000.
"In these tight budgetary times, we'd have to have some really strong justification for spending that kind of money, especially when there are other options in terms of public safety," Rabb said.
According to Mayor Sam Teresi, if Aldren Avenue were to become abandoned, property owners on either side would be able to take over the land. Additionally, Teresi told council members they would be able to place conditions on the land, if they would like to see a walkway put in that area.
Although a resolution to abandon the street was on the agenda for the voting session, City Council members opted to table the resolution until Lehman and other city officials are able to answer the questions of the residents.
The council passed five other resolutions during the voting session, including authorizing payment of the yearly audit. It was the first time since the mayor's executive budget was released that council members did not spend the majority of their time discussing the 2013 budget.
"Once that budget comes out from the mayor's office, that is pretty much all we talk about. Tonight, we had the Aldren Avenue issue on there, but that was unusual for us to have something other than the budget literally consume us until we get this done," Rabb said.