COAL TOWNSHIP - The township commissioners' meeting was a brief one this month.
With one action item on the agenda, little correspondence to speak of and no members of the public in the audience, Thursday's meeting wrapped in eight minutes.
The commissioners made one vote, approving advertisement for heating oil and diesel fuel for 2013, and read aloud monthly department reports.
Members of Coal Township Fire Department responded to 18 emergency calls in October, logging a combined 96 hours, 37 minutes in man-hours.
The calls were as follows: two vehicle accidents, three fires (brush, vehicle and "unknown"), six investigations (two each for fire, inside investigation and outside investigation), a fire chief incident, a public service detail and a residential rescue. There were also two calls for mutual aid.
Township police officers responded to 313 complaints in October and patrolled a combined 6,516 miles. There were 22 criminal complaints or citations issued, 38 traffic citations, 30 parking tickets issued, 24 vehicle accidents investigated and four code tickets issued. Thirteen abandoned vehicles were reported and each incident was abated.
Code Officer Chris Petrovich followed up on each of 76 complaints logged in October, issued two citations and eight code tickets. He also issued 51 building permits and 22 occupancy permits.
The township street department finished paving Locust Street and sealed Kelly Drive, Venn Access Road and Locust Street. It also filled pot holes in the Ferndale, Edgewood, Uniontown and Edgewood sections of the township.
A truck crossing sign was installed on Venn Access Road, speed limit signs in Upper Excelsior, reduced speed signs in Lower Sagon, along with various stop signs and handicap signs.
Leaf pickup with the vacuum trucks began last month, including ahead of the arrival of the remnants of Hurricane Sandy, and sewer drops were cleaned out. After the storm, the department commenced cleaning up.
Yard waste pickup will resume when crews become available.
Department trucks underwent various maintenance and were outfitted with spreaders to treat slick roads as winter weather looms.