ATLAS - A tense exchange erupted between a Shady Acres resident and township solicitor Vincent Rovito during Wednesday's meeting of the Mount Carmel Township Board of Supervisors.
Tony Coveleski, of Shady Acres, complained about oversized trucks crushing the road.
Coveleski claimed a neighbor, who owns a trucking company, also repairs trucks on the street. He described an incident which he said occurred two weeks ago in which police spoke to him about harassing the neighbor's workers.
"I was told by the police that the harassment has to stop or I would be subject to a citation. All I did was talk to the guy," Coveleski said.
Rovito interrupted Coveleski, explaining that since the incident is under investigation, he shouldn't make any admissions.
"I don't care if you do or not, but you make Chief (Brian) Hollenbush's investigation a little easier if you continue," Rovito said.
Rovito said that despite all of Coveleski's complaints, neither the neighbor nor his workers have broken any township laws or ordinances, so they cannot be cited.
"I will tell you the same thing I would tell anyone else. If you have a problem with your neighbor that you cannot resolve, you don't take the law into your own hands. You get an attorney and handle it in civil court," Rovito said.
Coveleski said maintenance continues to be done on trucks in the neighborhood, but when he calls for police it is broadcast over the scanner, and the neighbor alerts the workers to stop, so no violation is found.
"Maybe, when you contact the county 911 center, tell them not to broadcast the announcement," Rovito said.
"When I called DEP about violations going on, with cleaning the trucks and not having a catch basin, they were there instantly and got results," Coveleski said.
"Because there was a violation," Rovito answered. "If the chief comes to me tomorrow and tells me they are breaking the law, I would tell him to cite them, because they are no better than anyone else."
Coveleski accused Hollenbush and other officers of turning a blind eye to the problem.
"This is an issue that I've been dealing with since 2001, and I have gotten call after call after call," Hollenbush said. "It's ongoing. The maintenance that the neighbor is doing is minor. He's not changing engines. He's not changing transmissions. He's doing routine maintenance that is not interfering with the traffic flow in Shady Acres. Mr. Coveleski is the only one complaining."
"End of discussion," Rovito added. "If you believe you've been wronged, get an attorney."
In other business, the board approved a resolution to join the Tri-County Council of Governments and appoint them as the third party inspection agency for building permits in Mount Carmel Township.
Supervisors Charles Gasperetti, Reynold Scicchitano and Joseph Zanella approved a 10 percent collection fee to collect delinquent sanitation fees.
The board also approved the annual allocation of $500 for the Mount Carmel-Mount Carmel Township Joint Recreation Committee.
A community outreach program with a representative of Congressman Lou Barletta will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Tuesday, May 14, in the township's meeting room.