Monongahela residents don’t want to say goodbye to their brick road

By Michael Richter
mrichter@yourmvi.com
A couple of residents expressed their displeasure Wednesday with Monongahela council’s decision to add an exemption to a 2020 ordinance that allows the brick portion of Marne Avenue to be refinished with a different surface.
Council approved the exemption to section 3B in ordinance No. 5 of 2020 at the Jan. 10 meeting.
Residents Janet Roslund and Jared Sherlock told council the public should have been notified before the exemption was passed.
“The spirit of the law, I think, should require public input about the bricks, which I like,” Roslund said. “I know not many people do, but they do add a certain amount of character, and that character is charm, not ugliness and texture, color and my favorite, tone.”
Sherlock said he felt as though the exemption could set a bad precedent.
“It’s like, where does it end? Where does it start?” Sherlock said. “Can you exempt yourself after something may have already been violated? It just, it doesn’t look great.”
Mayor Greg Garry told the residents council will take their suggestion into consideration.
“And we’ll definitely get back to you on that,” Garry said.
Roslund explained that brick does have advantages over other surface materials.

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