First Posted: 11/15/2014
At the Dalton Council meeting Nov. 13, Dalton resident Shalom Lopez expressed a concern about the bridge on Lily Lake Road and the road across her house. She said that the bridge’s weight capacity will soon increase from a 10-ton weight limit to a 40-ton limit making it possible for commercial vehicles to be able to pass through on it. She also stated that it will cause her neighborhood to change from residential to commercial.
Lopez said that if the board and county allow this to happen, trucks carrying hazardous chemicals will pass through the neighboring towns of the Susquehanna River. She gave board members her research, which she looked up with her husband Rob Lopez, about current fracking sites, work hazards, and violations that already have been done locally.
She said that she and Dalton Council secretary Jo Ann Davies searched the PA Shell Viewer and researched how fracking has affected the beauty of Dalton’s community.
“Because of that, I want to call attention of our zoning officer with regards to signage that says ‘30-ton limit, 40-ton limit, No Commercial Vehicles’,” she said.
Lopez also asked who will be responsible in the restoration of her property when the bridge is completed. She also said that the top engineer assured her and her family that he will not touch the big tree in the back of her property near the bridge.
“Am I safe in this place?” she asked. “As a citizen of Dalton, do I have the right to speak up and voice my concern?”
Lopez stated that her main point is that she doesn’t want to her children to be affected by fracking that might happen near her property.
“We will look at this in detail and try to analyze this and see what we can do,” council president Gus Vlassis replied.
Mayor Aaron Holzman said that he will be help them any way he can.
“In terms of what’s being done with the road, we should probably find some information,” he said.
In another matter, board member Bill Montgomery announced that a junkyard on South Turnpike Road keeps expanding and it currently has wrecked trucks.
“It’s illegal because that’s a residential area,” he said.
Montgomery asked council members what they are going to do about this matter. Board member Len Peters said that he made an agreement with the owner Dave Plummer 10 years ago. He said that as long as the junkyard didn’t expand, council wasn’t going to do anything.
“But now, and I agree with Bill (Montgomery). Dave Plummer has pushed this thing all over the place,” said Peters. “I do support the idea that we go after this and make it right because it is in a residential area.”
Solicitor Frank Bolock said that the first thing is that a zoning officer would have to look at it.
Board member Lorraine Daniels commented, “I was wondering if he’s in his property lines.”
Vlassis said that he will ask zoning officer Richard Sopko to take a hard look at this situation and come up with some suggestions or recommendations.
In other business, Vlassis said that during the planning commission, there was a comment in the minutes that Chris Dettore was going to represent the Dalton Borough for SAPA (Scranton-Abingtons Planning Association).
“It’s not a bad idea,” he said. “We need someone to represent us if there’s no one in the authority or a councilman, then why not have someone like Chris do it.”
The board voted to appoint Dettore representative of Dalton for SAPA.
Daniels announced that there will be a Christmas tree lighting on Nov. 28, the Friday after Thanksgiving.
“It’s a very informal but very simple ceremony but it’s meaningful,” she said.