Brackenridge Council responds to pothole complaints: 'Money doesn't grow on trees'

Brackenridge Council is doing the best it can with the money the borough has available for paving, borough officials say.

Tresco Paving is scheduled to start work Wednesday on portions of Union Avenue, First Avenue and Prospect Street.

“We try for every grant we can get,” Council President Tim Connelly said. “Money doesn’t grow on trees.”

Angry residents have questioned the conditions of some borough roads, with a heavy focus on Prospect Street.

Resident John Briney wanted to know why his 700 block wasn’t on the list for road work this year. The road will be paved from Freeport Road to Ninth Avenue.

“The street is terrible,” Briney said. “I watch cars bottom out.”

Councilman Verne Petz, street department chairman, said there isn’t enough money in the budget to do the whole stretch.

The amount of the road budget wasn’t immediately available.

Briney argued there are roads across the borough in much worse condition than those that made the paving list. He questioned why council couldn’t get together at least once a year and canvass every street and alley before deciding which roads to target.

Connelly said he and former Mayor Tom Kish made it a habit to drive around every Saturday to assess the roads. Connelly said that all council members are invested in road conditions and report problems regularly.

The 700 block of Prospect is expected to make the paving list next year, Connelly said.

Petz said he and Connelly are making a special trip to assess roads that might be impassable for emergency services. Those have to be the priority, he said.

“I care about if an ambulance can get through or not without damaging their vehicle,” Petz said. “We have to pay attention to those ones, get the potholes fixed to hold them off until spring when they can get paved.”

Mayor Lindsay Fraser said she has been contacted by several residents about what they call the poor condition of Norwood Drive. She asked that it be added to the list for consideration for immediate pothole patching.

“The problem is the borough only owns half that road,” Connelly said. “We can check it but if it’s not ours, we’re going to have to call PennDOT and tell them to get out here and do it.”