West Kittanning Borough Council Praises Road Crew

The West Kittanning Borough Council discussed the performance of their Street Staff during this past February's massive snowfalls.

by Nathan Lasher

During a public meeting held last night, the West Kittanning Borough Council showed a great amount of appreciation for the work that their road crews did in order to keep streets clear after massive snow storms occurred this past February.

“We had to call a state of emergency, which was done by most of the boroughs in the State. There was a great job done by the Street Staff,” said West Kittanning Mayor Bernie Bowser Jr. during his Mayor’s report.

Bernie Bowser Sr. agreed. “The month went flying by so fast, and everyone was so busy that we lost track of the days,” he said. “Like the mayor just reported, the snow accumulation was one of the greatest reported ever in this area in Pennsylvania for February. We still have a lot of snow cover on the ground. Fortunately, through the utmost professionalism of the Street Department we kept the streets so that everyone could maneuver in and out of residences and properties, and they received a lot of compliments on the way they maintained the streets; even from people that were from out of the region. It was a sound movement on behalf of this Borough that everything was performed as such. We have received, hopefully, our last load of salt today. Believe it or not, our salt consumption was maintained successfully enough that we experienced no accidents and public safety was able to move about. All-in-all everything went well. No one had to walk a block or two because they needed an ambulance or public safety unlike some other communities where people died from that. On behalf of the Council, I’d like to say thanks to the excellent work performed by the Street Staff.”

Council President Cliff Neal agreed with the praise being voiced for the Street Staff and also felt the need to compliment the residents of West Kittanning. “I also received a lot of phone calls, but they weren’t complaints,” he said. “They were questions like, ‘When are you guys going to do this?’ or ‘When are you guys going to do that?’ but nobody complained. They knew it was bad, and they were just wondering when things were going to get done. I have to compliment the citizens of West Kittanning for pulling themselves up by their bootstraps and going with the flow instead of complaining. That’s a good thing about West Kittanning citizens.”

The Council also received their new West Kittanning Borough Code Books during the meeting. Council Member Michele Cogley is looking into uploading the contents of the books onto the Borough website sometime in the near future.

West Kittanning Moves Closer to Zoning

Solicitor Chase McClister (left) and Council Members Ed Morris, Michele Cogley, Bernie Bowser Jr., Bernie Bowser Sr., and Nancy Capone listen as President Cliff Neal speaks about the West Kittanning zoning ordinance draft moving forward.

by Nathan Lasher

West Kittanning Borough Council President Cliff Neal announced that the current draft of the zoning ordinance for the West Kittanning area is entering a new phase in moving toward its ultimate approval.

During the West Kittanning Borough Council meeting last night, President Cliff Neal announced that the current draft of the zoning ordinance is being pushed forward.

“The Chair of the Zoning Committee, Carol Augustine, has presented us with the draft for the West Kittanning Borough Zoning Ordinance,” said Neal during a public meeting last night.  At this time, we will turn it over to the Armstrong County Planning Commission for their review. That will be no longer than 45 days. After it comes back, then that is when Council will have a public meeting concerning the zoning, and it will be voted on as such. It will not be amended.”

“So we can not make any revisions at that time?” asked Council Member Michele Cogley.

“No,” replied Neal.  “That was the task of the Zoning Committee.”

After hearing Neal’s report, Cogley addressed the board with a concern about how many people have viewed the ordinance.  “I wanted to tell you Mr. President, as far as our website, we haven’t had many residents visiting up until recently. We have had maybe three or four maximum per month looking at the zoning,” said Cogley.  “I am surprised at that. I thought more people would be interested in the zoning and would voice how they felt – whether they liked it or they didn’t. They should at least read it. When we are looking at four people a month looking at it that tells me that there’s not a lot of interest.”

President Neal said that he is planning to give the draft of the zoning ordinance to the Armstrong County Planning Commission sometime this week.