James Petruzzi

GIRARD — Fire Chief James Petruzzi wants something done to help the fire department recover costs for damages to hoses, ladders and other equipment and tools when out on emergency calls.

Petruzzi told city officials at a recent council meeting that he wants to bill the insurance companies of where the calls were made to help cover the costs of damaged equipment.

He said the city will see what funds can be recouped for fire-related incidents such as vehicle crashes, fires, hazardous materials spills and rescue incidents.

“We would bill the insurance companies with nothing going directly to the residents. If it is built into the insurance policy, we would recoup the funds and if not, we won’t,” Petruzzi said.

Also at the recent council meeting, members of council talked about problems with motorcycles and even cars parked on sidewalks at times.

Councilman James Clark, D-2nd Ward, asked if the police can take more action to address the issue happening in different parts of the city, including by tattoo parlors.

“You will see motorcycles and other vehicles parked on sidewalks downtown and in other locations,” he said.

Councilman Thomas Grumley, D-4th Ward, said people are not allowed to park vehicles in yards and should not be parked on sidewalks.

Resident Annette Minitti said she often sees vehicles parked on sidewalks downtown.

IMPOUND LOT

Also, police Chief John Freeman said a tow impound lot is planned for across the street from the police department. He said the impound lot is not for junk vehicles, but for vehicles of people who are stopped by police for violations.

Freeman said only operational vehicles will be parked in the lot, and owners can get them back after paying fines.

Clark said he is concerned how the impound lot will look. Freeman said the property will not look like a junkyard.

Cost for the impound lot would be between $10,000 and $12,000, with funds coming from the fees and costs of the violations.

Freeman said it would be economically solvent

“We are providing a service to the community instead of having to pay a towing company to impound the vehicles at their lots,” he said.

“Niles and Warren have had impound lots for many years,” Freeman said.

TRASH COLLECTION

Council also heard from several residents who want a representative from Republic Services to come to a future council meeting to answer questions about trash collection. Officials and residents are concerned about costs and the trash often left on the roads and devil strips.

Grumley said the trash collectors missed three streets in the Parkwood area one week.

“The quality of the service has been poor and gone down in recent weeks. Trash is all over the place some weeks. We need someone from the company to come to a caucus and address this,” Grumley said.

Mayor Mark Zuppo said he is aware of some streets, such as Ward Avenue, where trash has not been picked up.

Republic Services officials have been asked to attend a meeting at 6 p.m. July 13.