PORTAGE — After receiving a high price tag for a traffic study quote, Portage Borough Council members are investigating other options, including a potential speed hump, to resolve a reported speeding problem at Terrace Circle.

Last month, the council voted to move forward with a public hearing to solicit feedback about changing the maximum speed limit for Terrace Circle — beginning at Lincoln Drive through Washington Avenue — from 25 to 15 miles per hour after several residents expressed concerns about drivers speeding through the street.

During Monday’s meeting, the council tabled a motion to move the scheduled hearing from June 15 to July 20, meaning the council is not pursuing the hearing and study at this time.

Borough Manager Makayla Zonfrilli-Lang said the quote for the study is about $5,700, which she described as a “high” amount, noting a state traffic study consultant told borough officials there might not be enough traffic through that area to warrant the speed limit change.

Instead of paying nearly $6,000 to pursue a study that might be denied, Zonfrilli-Lang suggested the council has its engineer, Brian Shura of Stiffler, McGraw & Associates, work with Public Works Director Fran Steberger and Deputy Director of Public Works Logan Cadwallader to obtain a quote about installing a speed hump instead.

Zonfrilli-Lang said a speed hump should save the borough “some money,” noting Hollidaysburg and State College have similar traffic calming devices in place.

“They are safe for plow trucks,” Zonfrilli-Lang said, adding they’re also efficient for slowing down speeds.

“I’ve personally been over them in Hollidaysburg. If you go any faster than five miles per hour, you’re probably going to do some damage to your car,” she said.

The motion to table doesn’t mean officials won’t move forward with the speed change traffic study in the future, Zonfrilli-Lang said.

“We found a more cost effective way to meet the needs of the residents versus the cost to the taxpayer dollar,” Zonfrilli-Lang said. “If we do the traffic study and PennDOT says ‘no,’ then we’re out all that money. Whereas if we just put a speed hump in, we don’t have to get approval for that.”

In other business, the council approved a motion authorizing the condemnation and taking of property owned by Harman and Parmeet Investment Group LLC by eminent domain for public sidewalk improvements.

The property is “a very small piece of the Right-of-Way” at the corner of Portage Street and Main Street, across from the Sheetz convenience store, where the Portage Service Center is located, Zonfrilli-Lang said.

The council also approved the borough’s settlement and release agreement with American Roofing Inc., relating to a 2017 lawsuit about roof work that was done to the Portage Borough Administration building at the time.

Zonfrilli-Lang said the roof repair’s total cost was supposed to be about $156,000, but officials were able to get a compromise of $35,000 — a payment the council authorized during the meeting — after fighting the issue in court for several years.

In addition, the council approved an amendment to its public comment, recording and streaming and visitor participation policy, striking a sentence that states, “Those persons present at a meeting and intending to record/stream the meeting shall notify the president that they have an active audio or visual recording/streaming device.”

Councilman Perry Scarton said the reason for the change is to save taxpayer dollars from “frivolous lawsuits brought by one person, or two people, at all times.”

“We have absolutely no problem with anybody recording or audio taping our meetings,” Scarton said. “All we ask for is just be cordial to one another here in case somebody doesn’t want their name or their image or their voice recorded, so that they would realize that things are getting recorded.”

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.