Complaints about an unruly neighbor on High Street in Bradford were a focal point at the Bradford City Council meeting Tuesday.
When visitors at the meeting were given an opportunity to speak, a couple from High Street told council that a neighbor on their street has been harassing them on a regular basis despite the fact that Code Enforcement has addressed the issue.
“It’s been terrible, just before we came down here (to the meeting) we went to pick up our mail, and this person came up and used all kinds of foul language and was drunker than a skunk,” the man shared, noting the situation has been ongoing a long time.
The man’s wife said the neighbor’s house has been visited by the police and other officials on numerous occasions as the individual has been disruptive not only to them but to the other neighbors in the area. In addition, the neighbor’s house has been condemned.
Council told the couple that during the next Board of Health meeting at 6 p.m. Aug. 10 the issue about the house will be on the agenda and addressed.
Mayor James McDonald told the couple that the issue is on the city’s “radar” but did note, “It’s definitely a process and it’s frustrating, I can only imagine.
“I’ll just say that Aug. 10 is the date that we can take some more steps to get you guys some peace and quiet,” McDonald added. “It sounds like you guys have had your hands full for quite a while.”
The couple was then invited to attend the Board of Health meeting to let them weigh in on the issue and share their thoughts. They were also told by Bradford City Police Chief Mike Ward to contact police if the individual is disturbing the peace and officers will respond.
Under new business, council approved an ordinance that amends an ordinance for parking changes in two areas in town near schools.
McDonald said that beginning Aug. 23, streets that will not allow parking from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays are Lorana Avenue from St. Francis Drive to Hawthorne Road near Floyd C. Fretz Middle School; and North Center Street from School Street to Pleasant Street near School Street Elementary School.
McDonald said the new ordinance was necessary to “relieve traffic congestion and make a safer and less hectic area for students to arrive to and from Fretz Middle School and School Street Elementary.
“This will make no parking areas near those schools,” McDonald said. “On North Center Street, there were two separate incidents of kids being struck by a vehicle this last school year during pick-up and drop-off. Thankfully, they weren’t worse than they were … but it’s pretty serious business when kids get hit by cars.”
He said Ward, as well as Bradford Area School District Superintendent Katharine Pude and all the city department heads agreed that the change was needed to improve the safety of students. The start date for the change is also the date for the first day of classes in the school district.
In other business, the board approved the second reading for an ordinance providing salaries of various city employees; approved the disposal of a 1987 HDB Zamboni; appointed Colette Roesller to the Bradford Area Public Library Board; authorized the purchase and approved payment to Murray’s Ford of Dubois for the purchase of a 2022 Kann Truck for $141,765, and a 2022 Box Truck for $98,934, among other business.
