From the BCCT
Residents take on debt to pay for curb work
By GEMA MARIA DUARTE
Bucks County Courier Times
Bridgette Tattersall was ready to tap into her 401(k) retirement plan to pay for mandated curb and sidewalk work at her Rumpf Avenue home in Penndel.
“I was desperate,” she said Thursday afternoon, referring to the repair costs she was facing — and her two layoffs in less than a year. “The letter [from the borough] said if we didn't put in the curbs and sidewalks, [the borough] could put a lien against our house or we could face jail time.”
Instead of tapping into her retirement account, she and husband Robert opted to get a loan to pay for the $4,000 curb repair and sidewalk installment.
The Tattersalls are among several residents who took on debt to pay for the work required by the borough.
In April, Penndel sent Rumpf Avenue residents notices about the borough's summer street resurfacing project. But before the street work could be completed, homeowners were told they had to repair curbs and either fix or install sidewalks by July 1.
After residents complained of the short notice and begged for more time, the borough extended the curb repair deadline to Aug. 1 and the sidewalk installment work to September 2009.
As of Thursday, most of the curbs had been repaired and borough officials said they expect the street reconstruction to be completed by the end of the month.
Like the Tattersalls, Laura Moffitt's family also took out a loan. They borrowed $7,000 for curb work alone, she said.
“The way the economy is, it would have been nice if we could have saved up the money instead of getting a loan,” she said.
Monday, September 1, 2008
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1 comment:
I said it back on Nov. 21, 2007, and I'll say it again. What I said didn't make any sense then, and it still doesn't now. But since when does making any sense matter? I'll tell you one thing, I ain't gonna lose my home just so I can pay for curbs in front of a home that I lost to pay for curbs in front of a home that I lost to ......No way baby, no way! You can thank me later....
STOP THE SIDEWALKS - CURB THE CURBS!!!
Now I see where the boro plans to install new sidewalks and curbs on Bridge St. from PA Ave. to Althea. Don't they care about our safety or the safety of our children? Do you know what it's like to get hit in the kidney by handlebars when your bike hops a curb? What's wrong with the old sidewalks and curbs (or lack thereof)?
Over 20,000 cars and SUV's per day go screaming down Bridge St. I tell you it's a death trap, a recipe for complete disaster and mayhem. It's only gonna make some cement company rich.
Sidewalks don't help you walk - only good coordination and proper footwear do! Bipedalism starts at home, you know.
How did things get so far along without anybody knowing? Was this yet another dastardly, underhanded back-door deal with the Bridge Commission?
IT'S NOT TOO LATE - WE CAN STOP THIS!!!!
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