Borough reverses itself on dog law officer due to insurance

Emporium will be without a borough dog law officer for a while.

Borough Council this week suspended the February hiring of Cameron County SPCA President George Sowers to fill the part-time position.

As a contracted employee, Sowers is not eligible for insurance coverage through the borough's policy. He was being paid $75 per month.

Among the options Council is considering is designating a current borough employee as the dog law officer, for an additional $75 per month in pay. Members called for an private executive session to discuss the issue and no decision was reached.

For now, Emporium Borough Police will assume responsibility for enforcing dog laws and dealing with nuisance complaints. The borough is also covered by the state's regional dog law enforcement officer.

In other business, Council accepted the bid of Solveson Contracting of Emporium to clear a debris basin on Oak Street and install or repair fencing. The company was chosen from among eight bidders, based on its proposals of $49,000 and $35,570, depending on the scope of the work. That will be determined by an engineer's recommendations.

Funds will be provided by the Pa. Dept. of Environmental Protection to hire an engineering for a scaled-down project.

In other business, Council:

--agreed to provide a letter of support for the skate park planned at the South Park Playgrounds. The letter is part of the grant application process.

--went into executive session to discuss a real estate matter. No details were released.

--tabled action on the longstanding proposal to pass a new ordinance regulating outside furnaces.

--agreed to support the Emporium Garden Club's maintenance of flower planters on Fourth Street.