Fence seems less than neighborly

Montrose Mayor John Wilson was presented a coat from the borough as at his last council meeting as mayor on Monday, Dec. 4. Wilson has served as the mayor for the past 12 years. STAFF PHOTO/STACI WILSON

Poet Robert Frost wrote: “Good fences make good neighbors.”
But that is not the case in one Montrose neighborhood.
Several residents from the Lincoln Avenue and Drinker Street area told the Montrose Borough Council at the Monday, Dec. 4, meeting that one property owner’s newly erected privacy fencing has affected the entire neighborhood.
Resident Ellen Mulligan said the fence was placed by an adjacent landowner between the properties. The fence, she told council, was about 160-feet long along the entire side of her yard, and effectively cut her home off from the rest of the neighborhood.
Mulligan said she understood and even welcomed adding privacy between the homes. But she said that about half of the length of the fence served no legitimate purpose, other than to cause a nuisance and annoyance as a “spite fence.”
Because of the elevation differences between the two properties, at some points the fence stands higher than its 8-foot height. “It’s a 12 foot wall of hate,” Mulligan said. “This is not who we are in Montrose, and not who we are in the neighborhood,” she said.
Neighbors in attendance also reported there are hundred of nails driven through the fence. They also said the fence was put up several feet short of the property line and the owner was piling yard debris, old children’s toys and more along the property line on the side that faces the Mulligan-Goodman home. Two other sides of the property were not fenced, she said.
Mulligan told council that she would like them to revisit the fencing provisions in the zoning ordinance. The current ordinance as written, she told council, did nothing to address this type of fencing. “I would like to see this not happen anywhere else in town,” she said.
Borough solicitor Marion O’Malley said council will take a look at the issues she presented at the meeting.
Tax increase
Council adopted the borough’s 2018 budget that will see a two mil tax property tax increase.
The tax rate was set at 12 mils, up from 10. But the increase is a return to the 2015 rate.
Councilman Todd Chamberlain said he would like to see more Earned Income Tax captured by the borough and encouraged the adoption of a renter’s ordinance or registration in order to make sure the borough is receiving its EIT.
The borough’s EIT revenue was below its projected revenue for the past two years, he said.
Park grant
The borough is receiving a DCED grant for $13,000 to be used in Memorial Park.
Park project plans include adding a concession stand, stretch stations, and additional fencing. If there is enough funding, the backstop in the baseball field will also be renovated.
Other business
Council President Sean Granahan noted the success of Christmas in Montrose and thanked the Chamber of Commerce for organizing the event.
It was also noted that there is an online survey asking for feedback about the event. Granahan asked attendees to leave constructive comments in order to help better the event in future years.
Council also thanked the county for planting new trees on the Green.
A request for tax exempt status for the Montrose Theatre was tabled until January, as was a discussion on a municipal alert system.