Great Bend boro looks into gas lease

BY PAT FARNELLI

Great Bend Borough Council may be entertaining the notion of entering into a lease agreement of some kind with a natural gas drilling company, or at least the topic was broached Thursday night.

Jerry McConnell raised the question, “Why don’t we start looking for ways to make money off this?”

MacConnell asked if the borough’s infrastructure could be switched over to one using natural gas.

Councilman Bret Jennings said that he has spoken with Laser pipeline officials, and was told they are only transporting gas through the area for commercial sale, and are not intending it to be tapped into for local use.

He said that the pressure of the pipeline gas would make it dangerous to divert for the community.

MacConnell said that although he was sure gas drilling couldn’t be done in town, the borough has some 400 acres, and there must be someplace that could be leased, with royalties making improvements possible for the borough. He said that the council should entertain company representatives, not landmen.

Board secretary Sheila Guinan, who is also a Great Bend Township Supervisor, said that getting in touch with a gas company official who is not a landman is not a simple thing to do.

She said she has attempted to speak with an official as both a private citizen and as a township supervisor, and always is referred to landmen.

The council agreed to invite a company representative from two or more gas drilling companies to visit a council meeting, one per month.

The recent hurricane was discussed, and althoughGreat Bendis particularly vulnerable to flooding due to its location on theSusquehanna River, measures taken after the 2006 flood did help avert disaster.

Some homes did need to have fire companies pump out their basement, and most of these homes were located onFranklin St., noted Councilman Mike VanGorden.

VanGorden asked for the borough to consider helping the fire company purchase a bigger, better generator. The fire company does own a generator, but it is small and can only run a few lights. The council will look into this further. VanGorden also asked aboutEMAraincoats for himself and his wife, as they are the coordinators for the Emergency Management program. This request was approved.

MacConnell asked if there was grant money available for fire companies, and had heard of another fire department in the county receiving a sizable grant.

The council passed an ordinance for off-street parking. This ordinance was drawn up by the solicitor, Francis X. O’Connor, who himself owns rental property in the borough. The ordinance will not prohibit parking on the street, but is intended to free up street parking for visitors by requiring property owners to provide off-street parking lots or spaces. The ordinance requires property owners to provide one off-street space for each rental unit, and three for each commercial unit.

Resident Bea Alesky asked for an explanation of the ordinance. She has an apartment building, and wanted to know how many spaces she needed to provide, and whether her large parking lot, which is “all dirt, with no lines,” would suffice. She was told that her parking lot was in compliance.

Jenningsreported on the Hallstead Great Bend Joint Sewer Authority and its concerns.

He said that the HGBJSA should be closing soon on a PennVest loan, and that the interim loan applied for throughPNCBank had fallen through.

He said right now, the property looks like an abandoned site. The sewer system needs a new electrical system and control panel as well as new switches, which will cost approximately $38,000 to $40,000.

MacConnell called the sewer a “money pit.” The borough has 383 EDUs, or 25 percent of the authority’s total EDUs.

Bids were discussed for painting the inside of the borough building, which also houses a senior center. The council agreed that both bids seemed too high. Guinan said that she had painted her own office there herself, and council agreed to reject the bids and look into buying the paint and trying to find someone to do the job.

The paint needed was estimated at 28 gallons, with six for the ceiling and 22 for the walls.

Park benches need painting, and at least one needs to be moved and installed on a pad.
Policeman Jon Record received his certification, and is interviewing other officers and conducting background checks.

The building for the police station is nearly completed, and should be finished sometime this month.