PORT CARBON - A business that specializes in products for the handicapped is planning to move its office from a home in Port Carbon to the center of the borough's business district, even though it's in a flood plain.
"This will give our business visibility, plus we're doing something to improve the borough's downtown," John M. Pontician Jr., 66, of Port Carbon, said Wednesday. "Being in a flood plain doesn't matter, as long as you follow the rules. You have to build one foot above the established flood plain."
He and his wife, Lorraine Gurlavage, 63, of 553 First St., co-own Total Accessibility LLC, which they started in 2010. They sell, install and repair products including stair lifts, wheelchair carriers and power wheelchairs.
Last week, Timberline Buildings LLC, Palo Alto, put up the one-story pole building for the business at 108 Coal St. On Wednesday, the couple pointed out what preventative measures they're taking to make sure the building survives future floods.
The Flood of 2006 put 6 inches of water on the street near that property, borough Councilman Andy Palokas said Wednesday.
Pontician, a former Port Carbon borough councilman, and Gurlavage said they had to follow rules regarding construction in a flood zone established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the state Uniform Construction Code and borough ordinances.
"They weren't allowed to put a basement in it. And the cement pad they put in for the building had to be a certain height," Palokas said.
"The street is 839 feet above sea level. You're required to put in a stone and concrete pad that will lift your building a foot above that. But we took it up further by another 3 or 4 inches," Pontician said Wednesday.
Timberline Buildings is preparing to pour the concrete floor. Pontician, who worked for years in the construction and contracting business, is planning to build the interior walls on his own.
"The sewage is in. The water lines are in. The power will go in next," he said.
The center of the borough's business district at Pike and Coal streets is home to corner businesses that include Abdo's Furniture Outlet, Affordable Auto Outlet and Mamma Mia's Pizza & Restaurant. When Total Accessibility opens, the intersection will have businesses on all four corners.
Pontician and Gurlavage didn't have a date set for the grand opening, but said it would be "sometime in April."
The land on the southeast corner of Coal and Pike streets has gone through some changes in recent years. For years, it was occupied by two blighted homes, 106 and 108 Coal St.
According to the online Schuylkill County Parcel Locator and The Republican-Herald archives, they were previously owned by Irene A. Mulhall, who died in 2007, and her husband, Thomas R., who died in 2004.
At a judicial sale July 14, 2010 Guiseppe Difiore, Schnecksville, Lehigh County, bought the property at 106 Coal St. for $1,039 and 108 Coal St. for $1,035 from the county tax claim bureau.
Difiore knocked down the properties in April 2011.
On Nov. 2, 2012, Difiore sold the land to Pontician and Gurlavage for $18,500, according to the online Schuylkill Parcel Locator.
Born in Port Carbon, Pontician graduated from Pottsville Area High School in 1964 and he earned an associate degree in business management from Penn State Schuylkill campus in 1966. He said he's gained a lot of experience in installing equipment for the handicapped by working for local construction contractors for about 30 years.
He said he served as a borough councilman in the late 1970s and during the 1980s. He said he was also a member of the Pottsville Area school board for two years in the mid 1980s.
Born in Heckscherville, Gurlavage graduated from Nativity BVM High School in 1967. She earned a degree as a certified nursing assistant from Schuylkill Technology Center, Frackville, in 1990. Over the years, she's gained experience working for medical supply firms. For the past five years, she's worked as a CNA part-time at Community Services Group, Pottsville.
"When we started dating 2009, we were both looking at retirement," Pontician said. "We sat and talked about it."
"I said 'there is a market for stair lifts.' We started looking into it with different suppliers," Gurlavage said.
"And we started the business in 2010," Pontician said.
The couple married on May 12, 2012.