Sidewalk fix opens can of architectural worms

By DAWN McELLIGOTT

MILFORD, PA — “This is an octopus with more tentacles than we care to deal with,” said John Klemeyer, solicitor for both Milford Borough and the Milford Architectural Review Board (ARB). He was speaking to John Longendorfer, owner of the Golden Fish Gallery and they were discussing the problems that led to an apparent violation of the borough’s historic architecture protection ordinance during recent work on Broad Street’s sidewalks.

The Milford Enhancement Committee arranged with the Milford Borough Council to replace sidewalks on Broad Street and the contractor, chosen through a bidding process, was Popple Construction, Inc., of Laflin, PA. According to the borough secretary, Lizanne Samuelson, “They did a great job.”

Aside from sidewalk closures prompting some lost sales during construction, John Longendorfer, owner of The Golden Fish Gallery on Broad Street, experienced a second problem as a result of the work. Part of the gallery’s roof extends onto the sidewalk. To pour the cement, the contractors removed the existing columns supporting the roof. The columns were temporarily replaced with two-by-four pieces of wood and jacks.

An employee of the contracting company advised Longendorfer that the existing columns were deteriorated and needed replacing. Longendorfer agreed and his son asked the construction worker about approval from the ARB.

The construction company employee responded that whatever permits were necessary would be taken care of. Considering the fact that the next ARB meeting was then a month away, Longendorfer was caught between a construction delay and the ordinance. He decided to replace the posts.

Longendorfer paid an additional $100 for columns with vinyl siding, as they would be not need painting and he had to act quickly. The contractors were saying they had to pour the piers in which the columns would be placed before pouring the cement for the rest of the sidewalk.

Mary Ann Monte of the Milford Enhancement Committee stood with Longendorfer at June 21 ARB meeting and told the review board, “I take full responsibility on behalf of the committee that I did not come to you on an emergency session. I don’t want the property owner to be jeopardized.”

“The problem is that although your building is vinyl, on the front, the building is … an older building, and we never would have approved vinyl posts as replacement posts,” architectural review board chairperson Beth Kelley responded.

Kelley conceded that the style of the posts was most likely historically appropriate, but the chosen material is too modern to be approved. “Now what we have is a post that violates our ordinance,” she said.

Kelley requested that Longendorfer bring in a photo of the building to establish its original appearance. The photos would be used to determine if the style of the columns was, in fact, appropriate.

But Longendorfer replied that Kelley had already determined that the material was inappropriate. He further said that he was not going to remove the columns and put up new ones, because it would involve tearing up the sidewalk a second time.

“We absolutely understand your position, we really do. But we have laws that we have to uphold,” Kelley told Longendorfer.

An audience member asked whether the posts were on borough or private property. ARB and Milford Borough Solicitor, John Klemeyer, answered, “We should not make conclusions… but it sounds like a substantial portion of this building is on borough property. We’re probably dealing with an easement situation, which would have to go to the [borough] council.”

The next meeting of the Milford Borough Council will be on July 7 at 7:30 pm at Milford Borough Hall on West Catherine Street.