| The Scranton City Council wants Mayor
Jim Connors to declare the fire hydrant situation an emergency and immediately hire a
subcontractor to install those now on hand. The union is screaming. (Fire Chief Harvey
Applegate) is frustrated. The bottom line is the administration has to take action now,
councilman Brian Reap said. Were talking human life. A dead hydrant could be a dead
family.
A spokesman for Pennsylvania American Water Company, meanwhile, said the utility has
installed 27 hydrants, including four on Tuesday. They are among 45 the city has requested
be replaced since August 1998, the spokesman said.
Mr. Reap said on Monday only 12 had been replaced, but that apparently referred to an
additional 12 the company installed as part of water main line replacement.
According to David Guskey, water company operations manager for distribution, the
company will try to install as many as it can in the next few weeks while theres a lull in
the construction schedule.
Hopefully, well clean them all up, he said.
He also said Pennsylvania American does not insist on doing the installation itself. A
qualified contractor could do the work, he said, but it would probably be more expensive.
The water company charges only for time and materials.
Concern over the hydrants peaked after firefighters were hampered twice in the past few
weeks by broken hydrants. In the most recent incident, four North Garfield Avenue homes
were gutted, possibly the result of a delay in finding enough working hydrants. The fire
department estimates there are at least 70 to 100 dead hydrants in the city.
Mr. Connors said he, too, is concerned. But he disagreed on the approach. He wants to
continue to push the water company to take over the system. It is something the city has
been attempting for at least two years. Mr. Connors said he has a meeting scheduled with
the utility next week.
They have the resources to do this, the mayor said.
Mr. Connors also pointed out the city already pays Pennsylvania American $300,000 a
year to run water to Scrantons 1,200 hydrants. The water company has profited from a
number of rate hikes over the years, and its sister company, AmericanAnglian Environmental
Technologies, just received a contract to run the Scranton Sewer Authority, he said.
Why should the taxpayers expend the money? he said. You cant have the benefits and not
the responsibilities.
Mr. Guskey said the water company is working toward an agreement with the city, but the
situation is complicated. Not all the hydrants are working, he said, and there is
liability involved.
Pennsylvania American does own and maintain the hydrants in Luzerne County. Mr. Guskey
did not know the history behind that, or why the water company does not own and maintain
the hydrants in Lackawanna County.
A takeover in the city, he said, may not exceed the existing fee, which he put at about
$500,000 rather than the mayors $300,000. The amount was set by state legislation.
Mr. Reap, along with John Pocius, council president, and fellow councilmen Ed Walsh and
Alex Hazzouri, do not want to wait. All agreed the situation was critical and warranted
immediate action. There is $148,935 left in the 1997 capital budget for the fire
department that the council wants to use for the hydrants.
The mayor said councils proposal is a good backup plan, but he prefers to pursue the
water company option. |
