Ellwood City Borough Council Approves Dunkin’ Facility, Drive Thru

Ellwood City Borough Council approved requests by Fifth and Spring, LLC in regards to a Dunkin’ fast food restaurant at the intersection of Fifth Street and Spring Avenue.

Council unanimously approved the 2,060 square foot facility as well as a drive thru contingent on the following conditions: No egress permitted onto Fifth Street from the Dunkin’ parking lot; right hand and left-hand turn from the drive thru lane onto Fifth Street; And moving a curbside pickup spot to the middle of the parking lot. They also approved a request to convert four properties into one buildable lot to house the restaurant, parking lot, and drive thru.

Dan Orie, vice president of development and general counsel for Heartland Restaurant Group, presented a site plan, which required council to consider an egress onto Fifth Street from the Dunkin’ parking lot (a request that council did not approve) in addition to the Drive Thru. He asked council to think of the traffic flow around the restaurant as two separate areas: The parking lot for the restaurant on one side and then a drive thru area on the other side. He said the restaurant group’s plan including the egress from the parking lot is vital to the flow of operations.

Members of the public also spoke about the proposed Dunkin’ and included a resident and a local business owner.

Bob Rivers, owner of the National Grind coffee shop, has attended numerous meetings to express the impact he believes a chain restaurant will have on smaller local businesses and the community.

“Is Ellwood City ready to be exploited for such little return,” he said. “Why does Ellwood City need this small business killer.”

Rivers also expressed his concern about the traffic patterns effecting other businesses in the vicinity of the Fifth and Spring Dunkin’ location as well as what he believes could be safety issues for pedestrians.

Bob Goetz, a traffic engineer for Trans Associates, spoke to the traffic concerns and said that the entrances and exits are all well within the PennDOT requirements for safety and estimated that 70 cars would be in and out of the parking lot per hour during Dunkin’s morning rush—the time that Orie said would be the restaurant’s busiest hours of the day.

Extra traffic is also a concern for George Ferrante, a resident on Locust Street. He is worried that the new Dunkin will directly impact his quality of life since his back porch will face the drive thru order speaker. He expressed concern that the lights, car fumes, and noise will be a nuisance. He asked Orie if the Heartland Restaurant Group would put up a fence to help provide a cushion between his residence and the Dunkin’ Drive Thru.

Orie said that the Heartland Restaurant Group is well within the perimeters of the code without installing a fence.

That response did not sit well with Councilman Caleb Cragle, who said that similar corporate chain brands like Sheetz who have come to Ellwood City went out of their way to try to appease any concerns from community members—even making certain concessions, and that just because Ferrante was the only community member that decided to speak out, his concerns should still be addressed.

“It’s not just about one resident,” Cragle said. “It’s about all of them.”

Orie said that although the proposed blueprint of the drive thru meets the code requirements, the Heartland Restaurant Group would consider putting in a fence. He assured council that the Heartland Restaurant Group would take community concerns into consideration.

Jason Lutz, representing his father, Ron Lutz of Lutz Briggs Schultz and Associates, Inc., said they believe that Dunkin’ will be a wonderful addition to Ellwood City.

“We feel Dunkin’ will be a great benefit to this community.”

Other motions passed:

A motion to approve the Minutes of the Regular Meeting held 4/17/23.
A motion to approve the Pre-Paid Voucher List dated 5/9/23, in the amount of $478,120.28, and the List of Vouchers to be Paid dated 5/9/23, in the amount of $168,370.69.
A motion to approve the Departmental Reports.
A motion to adopt an Ordinance, as submitted, repealing Ordinances #2603, 2604, 2605 and establishing “No Parking” on Glen Avenue (south side) from 5th Street to a point 197’ west.
A motion to adopt a Resolution authorizing the submission of an application to Lawrence County for an allocation of County Liquid Fuels Tax Funds. The amount requested is $52,774.03 representing cost overruns from a CDBG2021 paving project, specifically on 7th Street (Wayne to Woodland), Woodland (7th to 6th St), Park Avenue (7th to 8th St), Bell Avenue (8th to 9th St) and 10th Street (Beaver to Center).
A motion to approve the quote from LandPro Equipment in the amount of $12,558.50 (Costar pricing) for a 2022 John Deere Z930M zero turn mower. This amount will be paid from the General Fund ($8,000) and the General Capital Reserve Fund ($4,558.50).
A motion to approve the quote from Rehrig Pacific Company in the amount of $13,522.80 (State Contract pricing) for 180 Recycling carts. This amount will be paid from the Recycling Fund.
A motion to approve the quote from Andy Byler in the amount of $6,750 for repairs to the salt storage building roof (1210 Factory Avenue). This amount will be paid from the General Fund.
A motion to approve the request by the EC Cheerleaders to hold their annual 5K Color Walk/Run on August 12 from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Ewing Park.
A motion to approve the request by the EC Fastpitch (Time Travelers) to use Merit Book from August 4 – December 31, Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 4-8 p.m.
A motion to approve the employment of the following individuals for summer work at $12/per hour, contingent upon satisfactory background checks/clearances: Amber Fitzgerald, Benjamin Pesce, Ashleigh Ionta, Reed Angelucci, Makinley Magill, Gianna DiCerbo, Mary Houk, Giavanna DeBlasio, and Shane Tillia.
A motion to approve the employment of Ralph Richardson as a part-time Laborer III in the Public Works Department at the rate of $15.00/hour.
A motion to approve the proposal submitted by HUB/HDH Group to provide the following insurance coverages: Package policy (property, equipment breakdown, inland marine, crime, general liability, auto, excess liability)(MRM Property & Liability Trust) $132,686, Professional Liability (public officials liability/employment practices liability)(Greenwich Insurance Co) $9,517, Police Professional Liability (Greenwich Insurance Co.) $8,665. These amounts will be split between the General, Electric, and Sewage Funds.
A motion to approve the proposal submitted by HUB/HDH Group to provide the following insurance coverages: Package policy (property, equipment breakdown, inland marine, crime, general liability, auto, excess liability)(MRM Property & Liability Trust) $132,686, Professional Liability (public officials liability/employment practices liability)(Greenwich Insurance Co) $9,517, Police Professional Liability (Greenwich Insurance Co.) $8,665. These amounts will be split between the General, Electric, and Sewage Funds.
A motion to approve the employment of Antonio Romano as a part-time firefighter at the rate of $16.83/hour.
A motion to advertise for the position of Animal Control Officer.
A motion to advertise for the position of Park Manager.
A motion to accept the resignation of part-time firefighter Justin Diber.