MARS — Council members are still attempting to resolve an issue which has been nagging at drivers for years, but because the borough owns only the curb — not the sidewalk — bids have been hard to come by.

At the meeting Monday, April 1, council heard several quotes for the demolition and replacement of a curb on the corner of Pittsburgh Street and Crowe Avenue.

At least one of the quotes that came in offered to replace the sidewalk as well as the curb, which presented a problem, according to G. Michael Fleming, council chairman.

“We haven't had a great deal of success in getting anybody to even put in a quote, and if they did quote it, they wanted to include the sidewalk because they didn't feel it was worth it to do it if they didn't do the sidewalk,” Fleming said. “The problem is, we don’t own the sidewalk.”

While the borough is responsible for the curb, the funeral home is responsible for the surrounding sidewalks, he said.

The curb in question is located just outside the McDonald Aeberli Funeral Home. The borough has been seeking to have it replaced for years, as the existing curb has been shredded little-by-little by large trucks that use Pittsburgh Street.

“This has been a discussion for several years because of it being a curb that needs to be replaced,” said Mayor Gregg Hartung. “It being a state road, we need to meet (Pennsylvania’s) specs.”

According to Fleming, the curb replacement will consist of two steps: demolition of the old curb and pouring of the new one. There is a possibility that different companies may perform each function.

This matter has appeared on meeting agendas dating back to at least May 2022. However, any action on the matter has been delayed, largely due to bureaucratic red tape.

“Council has delayed action for various reasons in trying to get all the needed information to make an informed decision that satisfies the requirements by PennDOT and helps the property owner to eventually install a new sidewalk,” Hartung said.

While no action was taken on the matter during Monday night’s meeting, the discussion is expected to continue when the council next meets on Monday, April 15.