Business owners lambasted Bath Borough Council after council tabled the proposed Dumpster screen ordinance Sept. 4.

As the rain poured outside during the meeting, business owners came to hear about the proposed Dumpster screen ordinance. Instead they heard borough officials table the ordinance until the October meeting.

Officials were criticized by how they have handled the ordinance.

"I am agitated," said James Pasquariello, president of the Bath Social Hall, "Tabled for another month, ridiculous."

Pasquariello pointed out borough officials have offered no solution to the hardship the proposed ordinance places on the social hall.

According to the proposed ordinance Section 147-55 G, "Any required parking shall not be located in front of the Dumpster location."

Pasquariello noted he has no space to move the Dumpsters out of public sight as the ordinance would require.

"If I screen my Dumpsters, the social hall looses two parking spaces," he said.

Councilwoman Carol Bear-Heckman said a waiver of provisions is in the ordinance for any organization or business to claim a hardship.

The proposed Dumpster screen ordinance was brought up due to a concern for the unsightly appearance unscreened dumpsters cause.

Pasquariello asserted his business keeps the Dumpsters and the Dumpster area clean.

"This is about the aesthetics of the city," Councilwoman Jennifer George said.

Paul Connolly Jr. and son Paul Jay Connolly of Bath Supply commented that enclosing the Dumpsters from the view of the street can later create traffic jams because the "truck driver needs to get off the truck to open the gate."

Business owners also expressed their concerns regarding the fee to pay for the permit required. While Section 147-56 of the ordinance mentions how to obtain a permit from the borough manager or a designee, the ordinance provides no clear definition as to what fee to be charged.

Fiorella Reginelli-Mirabito, co-owner of My Place Restaurant, addressed council about enforcing ordinances already enacted. The borough should repeatedly fine offenders who do not maintain their properties, she said.

"Why are you wasting your time and my time?" said Coucilwoman Carol Bear-Heckman, who agreed with Mirabito. "We have to do enforcement."

"We take good care of our property," Mirabito said. "We care about Bath."