Resident, Landlord Stands Firm in Decision to Not Let Rental Inspector on Property

Borough Resident John Dixon attended the Williamsburg Borough Council meeting to ask about rental inspectors. Dixon claimed he had a bad experience with the current rental inspector the borough has and said his inspection for his rental properties was coming up and he refuses to let the inspector see or come onto his property.

Solicitor Nathan Karn said if the inspector was unable to do the inspection, Dixon would lose his certificate to rent in that complex.

“If you want to evict 15 families, that’s on you,” Dixon said to the council.

Borough Councilmember Ed Patterson asked Dixon for some flexibility as the borough will be getting a new rental inspection firm next year. Dixon continued his stance to not let the inspector come to his property and no further discussion was had.

Chief of Police Rowdy Kagarise said the body cameras for the police department were ordered. Kagarise then talked about a grant for an AED for the police department and possibly one for the Borough building; Paula Hamilton made the motion to give Kagarise permission to apply for grant with Dakota Biddle seconding, motion passed.

Mayor Ted Hyle, for his report, praised the police and borough employees for helping hang banners and Christmas lights around the downtown area. Hyle also thanked all those who were involved in making the Christmas parade a success.

Stiffler-McGraw Engineer John Clabaugh attended to continue discussion about H20 Project Grant the borough is working toward to widen Spring Street to help alleviate flooding concerns off of Route 866. Bruce Hamilton made the motion to sign a resolution for grant application. Paula Hamilton seconded. The motion passed.

Borough Manager Joe Lansberry gave an update on finding a new code enforcement office. A sample ordinance from a potential office was given and Lansberry asked the council to look at it. Karn said the ordinance will need “a lot of work.”

The borough approved the list of individuals for both the trail town committee and the DCNR committee. Karn instructed that any meeting either committee has will need to be advertised as a public meeting.

The borough received some grant funding from the 1st Street property and were asked to pick a new Williamsburg sign. Lansberry presented different examples and Ed Patterson made a motion following choices with Dakota Biddle seconding. The motion passed.

Paula Hamilton made a motion for the borough to continue its contract with Stiffler-McGraw for another year. The motion passed. P. Hamilton also made a motion to continue a contract with Young, Oakes, and Brown as the borough’s auditors for another year. The motion passed.

Following the advertisement of the budget, Bruce Hamilton made a motion to approve the budget for 2023. The motion passed. There was no millage increase.

There was a stipulation for medical insurance for borough employees: if they choose to not use the borough insurance, there will be a stipend of $100/pay added to their paycheck.