Fairfield Notes

(2/2011) Board moves to eliminate Pippenfest yard sale fee

The Fairfield Pippenfest Committee chairwoman Sally Thomas asked the Fairfield Borough Council to eliminate the $15 fee that the borough charges for yard sale permits on Pippenfest Saturday at the end of September each year.

"We’ve figured out other ways, we think, to raise revenues," Thomas told the council during its Jan. 25 meeting.

The council accepted the request and will be advertising the ordinance change that is required to drop the fee.

Patricia Smith and Dave Metz were also appointed to the Pippenfest Committee by the council.

Sesquicentennial committee formed

The Fairfield Borough Council voted during its Jan. 25 meeting to formally establish the Fairfield Sesquicentennial Committee. During the same meeting, a number of members were also appointed. The committee is in charge of developing a plan to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. In particular, the committee is looking to create a large event in April that will feature the re-enactment of the Battle of Fairfield, which was part of the Battle of Gettysburg.

The next meeting of the committee will be Feb. 17.

Council exploring ways to save the stone school house

One of the oldest buildings in Fairfield, a stone school house dating back to the 1700’s, has fallen into a state of disrepair. The windows are gone, there are holes in the roof and the interior is in poor state. The school house was recently a magnet for feral cats.

Mr. and Mrs. Gerard Michaels own the school house, located on Water Street. The Michaels were invited to attend meetings of the Historical Architectural Review Board (HARB) Committee where the school house was the topic of discussion, but they declined to attend.

At this point, the option seems to be for the borough to acquire the building and restore it, which would be a very costly process. By the same token, they council would like to preserve the historic building if at all possible.

Council gets update on 2010 fire calls

Fairfield Fire and EMS Chief Adam Brown told the Fairfield Borough Council that the fire company responded to 203 calls in 2010, of which 32 were within Fairfield.