East Petersburg residents ask council to take steps to reduce noise at pickleball courts
What happened: East Petersburg residents Don and Susan Piefer, who live next to the borough's new pickleball courts, attended the meeting to ask council if it could take steps to help reduce the noise at courts.
Details: Susan Piefer asked council to consider opening the courts at 8 a.m. instead of 7 a.m., install sound barriers on the fence, and post signs that state the hours courts can be used. Susan also mentioned a loud leaf blower she heard a few weeks ago on the courts.
Quotable: "It's terrific that they are having a great time in the park," she said, "(but) there's so much gray area (with park hours); people can be confused."
Pickleball response: Zan Hummel, pickleball court leader, said later on the phone that the loud blower was used once to clear the tennis courts, but following a complaint, now a smaller, quieter blower is used. Jeff Moseman, project supervisor, said the pickleball players are very respectful of neighbors and the borough.
What's next: Council members said they would put up five signs around the park with hours and regulations.
Right to know policy: Solicitor Amy Leonard will craft a Right to Know policy for the borough, based on a template from the Office of Open Records, following a request from Borough Manager Karen St. Clair.
Background: St. Clair said the borough receives "a lot of anonymous Right to Know requests" for everything from cell towers to phone contracts.
More: Leonard said there's a long list of information that is exempt from Right to Know requests including: infrastructure details, water towers, personnel records, and addresses of law enforcement. The borough doesn't have much latitude in the policy, she said, as municipalities must follow state law.
Quotable: "Your policy sets out procedures," she explained. "Like not being obligated to respond to anonymous or verbal requests; setting your own response time frame; and noting whether or not the requested information is, in fact, public record."
Request timeline: St. Clair said it can take her between one day and two months to pull together information for a Right to Know request.
Quotable: "You'll receive the same number of Right to Know requests, but having a policy in place is a good practice to make sure you're being consistent in your responses," Leonard said.
