SHENANDOAH - The southeast corner of Main and Lloyd streets in downtown Shenandoah has been considerably quieter as borough officials and a local store owner have reduced loitering problems in the past few weeks.
Chet Patel, owner of the One Stop Shop convenience store, said keeping the corner open and safe for customers and passers-by is a priority for him. Earlier this year, Patel received a liquor license from the state Liquor Control Board and sells beer and food in a partitioned area of the building.
"I'm here to stay. I'm not going to get out of here," Patel said. "I have talked to the police a few times and said we need to enforce the no loitering in a way that we don't offend anyone."
During the August Shenandoah Borough Council meeting, Councilman Robert Kulpowicz spoke about receiving complaints of problems with loitering in front and side of the store. The complaints he received included concerns by people making their deposits at the bank, and that senior citizens were concerned for their safety when patronizing the bank and other businesses. Other concerns were about the large number of people in and around the One Stop Shop and issues with panhandling and public urination toward the rear of the building.
Borough officials, including Borough Manager Joseph L. Palubinsky and Mayor Andrew Szczyglak, visited the store the day after the meeting and spoke with Patel about the problems.
"He acknowledged the problems and is more than willing to help alleviate them," Palubinsky said. "We were told that when Patel is at the store, he has instructed loiterers to leave."
"We have also had the police department patrol the area more often to help alleviate the problems," Szczyglak said.
After the comments at the council meeting and the next day's visit to the store, the number of people in front of the store has dropped considerably, though police are still monitoring the area to make sure the problem doesn't return.
"As for the other complaints, personally I haven't seen anyone panhandling. Look at it now. It's getting cleaned up. You have to give me some time. I told them (borough officials) that I'll take care of it and keep everybody moving." Patel said.
Patel has told patrons who smoke outside to stay at least 25 feet away from the entrances.
"I'll tell them not to group together any more than three or four. Just smoke a cigarette and come back in," Patel said. "I just need to get them to behave and act professionally, by which I mean to respect my business."
Patel said the Lloyd and Centre corner is one of the busiest in the borough, and the first two blocks of North Main Street have a lot of foot and vehicle traffic. He added that the convenience store section is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and the beer store section is open to 10 p.m.
Patel has also added more security cameras to monitor the inside and outside of the business.
"I have installed $3,000 worth of cameras. Two more cameras are outside, and there are six more inside," Patel said. "That's a total of 16 cameras."
Patel plans to attend the borough council meetings on a regular basis so he can be available to answer questions if any arise.
"I'm here to work with the town. It's only going to get better by working together. We got inspected by the LCB last week and they had no complaints. We'll keep it clean and work together," Patel said.