By RON GOWER rgower@tnonline.com
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RON GOWER/TIMES NEWS Three-year-old Braden Crissy of Jim Thorpe watches demolition of the former Summit Hill borough garage and Water Authority office as well as the Summit Hill Fire Department, yesterday. A new firehouse will be constructed on the site. |
Two major, positive events happened Monday regarding the mammoth building project for Summit Hill borough:
• The borough received a tentative occupancy permit for the new borough hall and received keys to the building. This means the borough secretary, water authority, and police department can move into the new structure.
• Demolition occurred to the fire house and former borough garage which last housed the water authority office.
The new borough hall has been built in a former park along West Amidon Street, next to Ginder Field. Although not 100 percent completed, the building is ready for occupancy, according to the borough's building inspector, Barry Isett & Associates of Trexlertown.
There will be a new fire house and community center erected on the site of the demolished buildings. Also to be razed will be the former St. Joseph's School Building, which has been used as the borough hall for several decades. Demolition on this large structure is expected to begin in about two weeks.
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Demolition began yesterday on the Summit Hill Fire Company and neighboring building, with a third building to be razed today. Also to be demolished will be the old St. Joseph's School building, which has been the borough hall for several decades. The latter demolition work is expected to occur in about two weeks. |
Monday, borough officials and police officers were busy packing boxes in anticipation of the move to their new facilities about two blocks away, while borough workers along with employees of Lansford and Coaldale moved desks and other office equipment into the new building. Summit Hill, Coaldale, and Lansford have a shared services agreement which enables the workers from other towns to help their Summit Hill neighbor.
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Residents make themselves comfortable in Ludlow Park, Summit Hill, as the watch demolition work occur to the Summit Hill Fire Department and a neighboring building as part of a large construction project by the borough. At left is Kenneth Boyd, a member of borough council. |
Kira Maholick, Summit Hill borough secretary, tried packing while answering the telephones in her current office yesterday. She said she expects the borough hall to be closed all week because of the move.
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Summit Hill Borough Council member Mike Kokinda checks out council table in the newly constructed borough hall. The borough received the keys to the new structure and a temporary occupancy permit yesterday. The first borough council meeting will be held here on August 18. |
"With demolition going on, people going in and out of this building are not safe," said Maholick from the St. Joseph's structure. She said the contract for the construction calls for the borough offices to be moved to their new location after receiving the key for the new structure.
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Little remains of the Summit Hill Fire Station and neighboring building which housed the Summit Hill Water Authority office. Demolition on the structures began yesterday. |
The fire department has moved their apparatus to the present borough garage until a new firehouse is built. Dozens of people – including several firefighters – watched from Ludlow Park, some with lawn chairs and many with cameras, throughout much of the day as demolition crews worked swiftly and methodically to tear apart the old fire station and neighboring brick building.
The demolition work is being done by O'Brien Wrecking of Reading. Maholick said the demolition company was hired by the general contractor of the project, Miller Brothers of Schuylkill Haven. The demolition is part of the general construction contract.
Much of the material from the demolition is being recycled, said Keith DeNunzio, foreman for O'Brien Wrecking. He said a crusher will be brought to the site to crush the concrete and bricks. This material will be used as fill where basements exist.
Metal will be shipped to Camden, N.J., where it will be melted and then shipped overseas.
The wood will be taken to a location in Ohio where some may be salvaged and recycled and other pieces will be incinerated. He said it is less expensive transporting it to Ohio than placing it in Pennsylvania landfills.
He said the demolition work is proceeding as scheduled. His firm has a six-week timetable to take down the involved buildings and clean up the site. A vacant house the borough purchased next to the former water authority office will be demolished today.
DeNunzio said the razing of the St. Joseph's building won't happen until most of the debris is cleaned up from yesterday's and today's demolition work.
For DeNunzio, working demolition is almost a full circle of his employment career. He said he did construction work for 30 years until he became disabled and wasn't able to continue in that vocation. He now supervisors demolition work.
"This is a big step forward for Summit Hill," said Lori Leinhard, a police officer in Summit Hill as she packed boxes with items from her desk to move to the new police station.
She noted that of about eight windows in the current police station, only one can be opened. Some have screws in them to keep them from falling.
To reach the police department requires climbing 34 steps. She said this is especially dangerous if taking someone into custody who is combative.
"That building is beautiful," Leinhard said regarding the structure housing the new police department. "Sixteen years of walking up steps and now we get to go right in the door."
Leinhard said the police department will continue functioning through the week. The computers are still hooked-up in the old office and the police have access to them. She said the police will be in the new location either later this week or the beginning of next week.
Mike Kokinda, a member of Summit Hill Borough Council, said the temporary occupancy permit was given because some minor work needs to be done. Some of the outlets aren't properly seated, he pointed out, although they are safe and just need to have an adjustment. More duct work is needed for air conditioning. The permanent table in the council chambers was being put together yesterday. Some work needed to be done on the police department garage doors.
He said the bathrooms are completed and clean. The police department processing area is almost finished.
"It's just a punch list of items that needs to be done," he said. "It's 95 percent done."
The next meeting of the Summit Hill Borough Council was moved to Aug. 18 and will be held in the new building.
"It's a beautiful building and something that was needed," said Councilman Harry Miller. He said he is pleased with the interest rate the construction project received, noting that the new building "should affect the overall borough efficiency."
Shawn Hoben, Summit Hill Fire Chief, admitted there were mixed emotions. He said the existing fire company "dates back longer than I'm alive."