BOX 336 BRIGHTON, EXCH ‘Are we beautifying America or are we letting Harveys Lake go down the drain?’ was the question posed by a resident at Harveys Lake borough meeting last Thursday. Complaints by residents of con- ditions in the vicinity of Center Street and also on Route 415 near Idetown were stressed during the meeting. Various properties were described as ‘junkyards’, some infested with abandoned vehicles and rodents. Mayor Alvin Zim promised a crack- down on cars parked illegally or failing to display current inspection stickers or plates. Councilman Guy J. Giordano suggested a crackdown with enforcement of regulations required that unsightly storage areas be screened from public view. Giordano volunteered to assist Zim in confronting offending property- owners in the cleanup attempt. ia i Te Proposition 213 M 00-In Photos Dallas Township Police have assumed investigation of a weekend ~ burglary originally responded to by Lehman Township Police. Reported taken from the residence of Robert J. Yurksis, RD 1, sometime between 3 p.m. Saturday and 2:15 rifles, two shotguns, one 357 magnum Smith and Wesson revolver, and one 55-1b. bow. Entry was reported gained by prying loose a window screen and reaching in to unlock a door. Total value of the loss was estimated at $3,234. Lehman Township Assistant Chief man investigated originally but turned the case over to Dallas Township upon learning that the resident paid taxes in Dallas Township. He said that the home was in a ships. DALLAS, PA. Harveys Lake council members voted 4-3 Thursday night to turn aside the franchise bid of Back Mountain Telecable, present operator of local cable television systems, in favor of a new company, Gamma Corp., after several weeks of discussion and in- vestigation. According to testimony provided in previous council sessions by Robert Barni, operator of Telecable, and other company representatives, the decision appeared to jeopardize prospects for the sale of that company to Phoenix, a Hershey-based cable television supplier. The apparent key to the council’s decision was a vote on an added provision to grant the franchise on an exclusive basis. Previous presen- tations served’ to indicated that Gamma would not accept a non- exclusive franchise although Back Mountain, which had been under criticism for previous service to the community, was willing to continue under a non-exclusive arrangement. Councilman Guy J. Giordano A challenge to Harveys Lake Borough Council’s award of the cable TV franchise to Gamma Com- munications may be mounted, council president Robert DeRemer said Tuesday. “It’s not over yet,” commented DeRemer, leader of the unsuccessful attempt to- award the franchise to Back Mountain Telecable Co., presently serving the borough on a non-franchise basis. While DeRemer did not specify the form that a challenge might take, he did say that he planned to get in touch with Back Mountain owner Robert Barni later Tuesday and that they would ‘‘probably meet” soon. Borough council awarded the franchise to Gamma last Thursday on a 4-3 vote. Barni, a Sunbury businessman, could not be reached Tuesday to confirm either the likelihood of the challenge or published reports that Back Mountain has ceased to maintain its service during its final weeks of operation. DeRemer was outspoken on the subject of council’s reasons for giving Gamma the franchise. ‘‘Rotten politics is what did it,”’ he said, claiming that party-line voting some time before prevented his fellow Republicans from supporting his plan to allow the two companies to com- pete within the borough when they saw that council’s lone Democrat, Jack McManus, favored the proposal. He also claimed that a local public utility firm has close ties with Gamma and that one council member voting in the opposition is affiliated with the firm. Both Robert Hosey, Gamma owner, and the cable TV firm’s manager, Conrad ‘“‘Murph’® Hislop, said that they knew of no challenge to the -award of the franchise as of Tuesday. Hosey reported that he had had ‘‘no since Thursday,’’ while Hislop maintained that the opposition was “grabbing at straws.” In regard to allegations of tie-ins with any utility, Hosey replied, “No sir, I own 100 percent of the stock. No one else is involved.” Hosey dismissed charges that Gamma might not have the capacity to bring in the independent channels promised in its bid, saying that he plans to purchase the feed of the five independents from an existing microwave installation. DeRemer said that, following his proposed meeting with Barni, statements for the news media would be forthcoming. Moran) argued in favor of the exclusive colleagues of the possible lower costs for cable television subscribers when one unified system rather than two parallel systems. ‘You're doing the people an in- justice,’ comments to Robert Wintersteen, Councilmembers Robert favored dual competing systems for the community. Wintersteen and DeRemer spoke in favor of competition, explaining the restraints provided by competition in retailing businesses. Giordano said utility-type operations required much greater fixed cost outlays ‘which would make dual systems prohibitive for CTV subscribers, who would have to pay the ultimate costs. Key vote on the decision was cast by Councilman Andy Morgus. His ‘yes’ vote favoring an exclusive franchise specification forecast the decision to favor Gamma. Both the exclusivity clause and the ultimate franchise award to Gamma came on 4-3 votes with Giordano, Morgus, Margaret Purcell and Becky Casterline favoring Gamma. DeRemer, Wintersteen and McManus cast the ‘no’ votes. Throughout the discussion, it was apparent that Mayor Alvin Zim also favored the Gamma proposal, which grew out of council’s earlier search for alternative systems to Back Mountain's. The vote authorized the borough of Harveys Lake to advertise the cable television franchise ordinance. Following the passage of the or- dinance and agreement on franchise language and provisions, the timetables agreed to by Gamma will presumably go into effect. Extensive provisions seeking to protect the interests of borough residents were included in the council’s ultimate counterproposal. CTV franchisee will be required to provide a letter of credit or bond of $25,000 to guarantee compliance with the franchise requirements. The bond could be forfeited if, for any 30 consecutive days, the borough subscribers receive less than 12 channels agreed due to negligence on the CTV firm’s part. The franchise limits channels to no more than two education stations, plus three local network channels, five independent channels, one home box office channel and a time and weather channel with access for borough meetings. The franchisee will have to provide the 12 channels within nine months or lose the deposit, providing the four local channels within three months, charge on $1 per set per month for extra sets, and provide free service for the municipal fire department. The franchisee must provide live coverage of two public meetings of borough agencies each month at the option of the borough and have the capability for fire and burglar alarm hookup within two years. The borough also requires, a guarantee of picture quality subor- dinate to the regulations of the Federal Communications Com- mission and other reasonable limitations. A five percent franchise fee will be paid to the borough by the franchise fee or the maximum permitted by the FCC. Attorneys for both CTV firms ap- peared to question the amount of bond required and suggested that the language of the guarantee could be Following the vote favoring Gamma, Giordano moved to force council to officially adjourn the meeting at the close of the night’s business to avoid overturning the decision at a recessed and recon- vened session. Gamma’s proposal was previously accepted and sub- sequently rejected at such a split session. Councilman McManus joined the majority on the vote with the proviso that the council return its second meeting of the month to private session instead of keeping it open to the public. Giordano, a progonent of open meetings by the council, acknowledged, things in private that we can’t do in (public meetings).’ A Pennsylvania Fish Commission proposal to turn over a boat launching facility to the borough of Harveys Lake was rebuffed by council members at their meeting last The offer followed attempts by the borough’s municipal authority to require the commission to connect two toilet facilities at the launching site to borough sewers. The com- than connect to the sewer. In a July 12 letter to Mayor Alvin Zim, John O. Hoffman, chief of the commission’s real estate division, the borough for 25 years, obliging the borough to maintain free public ac- cess for the fishing and boating public and provide routine maintenance as required. Council members quickly declined the offer but one councilman in- dicated he would support purchase of the 2.59 acre site for $1 ‘in fee simple’ without restrictions so the borough could charge for use of the launching site. In other action, council members agreed to seek a meeting with fish commission representatives to revise the ice fishing ordinance in an at- tempt to further regulate the proliferation of fishing shanties on the lake in mid-winter. They also agreed to amend the borough vacation ordinance and permit approved exceptions to the summer vacation prohibition and passed ordinances establishing a local police pension fund and resolve a pension fund dispute with Lake Township. The borough also plans to solicit permitted by borough codes. Council members also considered various road maintenance requests brought to their attention by citizens attending the meeting. The Annual Country Carnival of the Dallas = Fire and Ambulance Association and the Ladies Auxiliary will be held Friday through Sunday, Sept. 1, 2, and 3, at the Back Mountain Library Auction Grounds. Highlighting the carnival will be the parade Saturday evening at 7, featuring fire and ambulance units and Irem Temple units. foods will be available. Children will be able to ride a borough fire truck. Nightly country and western musical entertainment will be provided. The drawing will be held Sunday evening. First prize is a grandfather clock, second a Remington 30.06 rifle, third a 10-speed bike, and fourth a Seiko digital watch. Drawing tickets are $1 each and may be purchased ambulance units or the ladies carnival. used to purchase new fire and am- maintenance. Ed Lyons is carnival chairman. Lake Township Supervisors are having a problem obtaining funds for road improvements this year. Towr ship engineer John Grimes explained Wednesday night that the Depart- ment of Housing and Urban Develop- ment has apparently changed the criteria for obtaining road funds this year, According to Grimes, a census conducted by HUD last winter showed only 47.9 of the residents in Lake township in the low to moderate in- come bracket. Although the exact criteria required by HUD is not clear at the present time, the number: of residents in the lower income brackets appeared insufficient for the township to receive the necessary funds for road improvement. Since more information must be ob- tained before funds can be applied for, the money may not be forth- coming until October or November, are received too late, they may be held over and used for road improve- ment next spring. Tax collector Ruth Donsavage should be required to pay the $5 tax capita tax to the township. This tax must be paid by all township residents 18 years of age and over. seemed to be that each person has an obligation to pay taxes to the munici- pality in which he lives whether he attends college or not. ] The board accepted the resignation of Jacob Brin III as sewage en- forcement officer. Groundbreaking for the new recreation building at Harveys Lake is set for Thursday afternoon at 3, according to Harveys Lake Borough Council president Robert DeRemer. The 24-by-40-foot building in the Sandy Beach area of the lake is being financed primarily through a grant of $27,700 from the Pennsylvania Dept. of Community Affairs. Once the foundation area has been dug out, said DeRemer, there will be a delay of three to four weeks until the contractor receives the necessary materials. He added that he expects the three months. 3 » 1
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