Bloomsburg Town Council Tables Vote on Sidewalk Obstruction Ordinance

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On Monday, January 7th, Bloomsburg Town Council agreed to table voting on a proposed ordinance which would regulate “obstructions” after the Chamber and Downtown Bloomsburg Inc. expressed concerns. Both organizations and several other businesspeople in attendance felt an ordinance is unnecessary and would deter business growth in the Downtown. DBI with work with the Town to better promote existing guidelines and with businesses to address concerns over the next few months.

The ordinance would increase regulation of “obstructions” in the sidewalk rights-of-way in the “Downtown area”, which the ordinance defines as Main Street from West to East and East from Main to 7th Street. The ordinance would replace current guidelines which are in effect. The Chamber’s Board of Directors sent a letter to Council in late December urging them to table the ordinance and work with Downtown Bloomsburg, Inc., the Chamber’s subsidiary, to address this issue in a collaborative and positive way. Chamber President Fred Gaffney expressed to Council that a possible daily fine of $25 to $600 would be perceived as a threat to businesspeople looking to invest in the Downtown.

Following considerable discussion, Council agreed to table discussion until the April meeting of the Town’s Community and Economic Development Committee meeting. In the interim, DBI will obtain the existing guidelines from the Town, distribute them to all businesses in the Downtown and discuss specific areas of concerns with those business owners.

Campbell Printing Chosen for Chamber Spotlight

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Campbell Printing Co. was selected at random as the October Business Spotlight winner. As a result, their business will receive an article featured both in E-Biz and on the Chamber’s website.

 
Campbell Printing Co. was formed in the 1940s by Harry Campbell. Originally located on 3rd and Spruce Streets in Berwick, it would later move to Monroe Street where it is located today. John and Sharon Getty purchased the company in 1974 and it’s remained in the family for the last 38 years.

 
Campbell Printing is the only full service printing company in the immediate Berwick area and its customers show their appreciation by being repeat buyers and by advertising through word of mouth. The current owners, Matthew and Jocelyn Getty, continue to carry out business with the same work ethics that were present when the company first began.

OPTiMO Chosen for Business Spotlight

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OPTiMO Information Technology LLC was selected at random as the August Business Spotlight winner. As a result, OPTiMO receives an article featured both in E-Biz and on the Chamber’s website.

OPTiMO is a technology solutions provider that was founded in April 2008 by Michael Miguelez. Since then, the business has grown to include sixty full time employees with offices in Bloomsburg PA, Wilkes-Barre PA, Vienna VA, and the Washington DC Metro district. Business has steadily increased over the years and in 2012, Miguelez was awarded the Greater Susquehanna Keystone Innovation Zone (GSKIZ) Entrepreneurial Achievement Award.

What sets OPTiMO apart from other technology firms in the area is the wide variety of services that they offer. Their clients range from Fortune 100 companies to regional nonprofit businesses. Services provided include: Enterprise Software and Application Development, Application Modernization, Business Process Engineering, Program and Project Management, IT Operations, Digital Forensic and eDiscovery, ERP Systems, and much more. Additional information can also be found at www.optimo-it.com.

Berwick Travel Advisory

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Berwick Route 11 Construction Update

Below is the schedule for planned construction on Route 11 in Berwick next week.

Beginning Sunday, Aug. 26 at midnight the contractor will begin Stage 3B on Front Street (Route 11 NB) between Oak and Mulberry streets. Work will be performed around-the-clock and is expected to be completed by Friday, Aug. 31, weather permitting.

Work will consist of closing the right lane, excavating, placing sub-base material and paving. During this time, traffic will be restricted to a single lane and intermittently stopped by flagger personnel to allow for dump trucks to be loaded. All businesses will remain accessible to their customers.

On Monday evening, Aug. 27, the contractor will also begin placing the final wearing course of pavement on Second Street (Route 11 SB) between Lasalle and Vine Streets. Traffic will be reduced to a single lane. Paving in this area will occur throughout the week.

The traveling public is reminded to slow down while driving through these areas and to stay alert for dump trucks entering and exiting the work zone.

Traffic Impacts Update for Route 11 Resurfacing Project in Berwick

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Below is the  latest travel information for the Route 11 resurfacing/reconstruction project in Berwick.

PennDOT’s contractor (Barletta Materials & Construction, Inc.) will be closing the Berwick-Nescopeck River Bridge this weekend to reconstruct a section of Route 93 between the bridge and Front Street (Route 11 northbound). The bridge will be closed Friday evening, June 15 at 10 p.m. and reopened to traffic by Sunday evening, June 17 at 10 p.m.

A signed detour will be implemented using Route 339 (Broad Street in Nescopeck) to Route 2028 (Market Street in Mifflinville) to Route 11.

This work is the second of three stages designed to reconstruct the Market Street intersections with Front and Second streets. It should be noted that this work does not have the final layer of blacktop applied yet. That phase will happen at a later date after reconstruction of the third stage (right-hand lane of Second Street at Market Street) is completed. That work has not yet been scheduled.