Rofo Biz Owners Contest Knox Box Ordinance

The Council met for its regular meeting on April 24, and local business owners were in attendance with issues regarding the . The ordinance states that commercial properties in the borough must have a Knox Box for ease of access for emergency responders. A Knox Box sits outside of a building and has the keys to the building's main doors. It is operated by a master key, which is held by police and fire responders.

The ordinance has been in existence since 2010; however, a new ordinance was passed early in 2012 by council that specifically outlined fines to be levied if businesses chose not to have a Knox Box.

Public Safety Committee Chair Bruce Buckwalter reported the committee met in early April and heard concerns from citizens and business owners, but after a lengthy discussion, found no reason to seek changes to either ordinance.

Councilman John Kring thought other options could be explored.

"If you have business and residents living above the business and you have apartments, those units should have Knox Boxes," said Kring. "If you have a business and it's a standalone business and it’s your business, I don’t care if you have a Knox Box or not. I don’t disagree with your finding, but am also understanding when they come through you front door, that’s your problem because you decided to opt out."

Buckwalter explained that the ordinance would have to be rewritten if Kring's idea is put into place. Kring said "so be it."

"This is one twist that I thought about and I don’t know that that’s the right way to do it or not," he said. "That certainly takes the consideration of the property owner into view, knowing it’s my business and my shop. If you’re going to go ahead and gain entrance however you’d like to, you can do that. But if you're going to  damage my property, I’d like to have the Knox Box there. Otherwise I think it’s a good ordinance. I think public safety in general is a view in what you’re thinking about."

The issue that many business owners expressed was security and the handling of the master keys. Council pointed out that businesses could opt out if they had an on-site 24-hour-a-day security person or monitoring system, but only if the Fire Marshal granted the exception.

Councilman Ken Wadsworth, who also serves on , did not see room for exceptions.

"If there's people involved above the first floor, I don’t see where they could opt out," said Wadsworth. "You're putting someone's life on the line and maybe mine trying to get in to get that person out."

Royersford Fire Chief Gary Wezel explained having a Knox Box would avoid the property damage caused by responders breaking doors down in emergency situations.

William Christman, owner of was in attendance and spoke his mind about the ordinance.

"I think the Knox Box is very good for a majority of people but don’t think it should be compulsory to all of us," he said. "There's a liability question there. I’ll speak for myself. I have a jewelry store and the store today is like a bank. I have 10s of thousands of dollars worth of merchandise that are my customers' and that I’m liable for. I just don’t feel I’d like to hand out a key on my front door or in the front of my building. I just feel that the liability is just too high for me to put my key out."

Christman said it would cost $300 to put a Knox Box in front of his building. And if he put a monitoring system to opt out of the ordinance it could cost thousands.

"With economy like it is and stores, half of them empty now, you're driving us up the wall and alienating our business people," he continued. "Many people on Main Street are against having a Knox Box. It shouldn’t be mandated and that’s what it is beings there's a fine if we don’t do it.

"We have a volunteer fire company that I’m sure are trustworthy, but today, the burglars can get into anything. For me to pay for monitoring each and every month is too big of an expense. You just might force my retirement. That may not mean anything to many, but it would mean something to majority of people each and every day. We’re servants of community. We're not just there to make a living. We serve the community. To force me to do it, would make it compulsory and that is not right."

Wezel explained that an alarm system is activated whether the door is broken down or the Knox Box key is used.

"It's still going to serve the same purpose," he said. "It will send an alarm to the monitoring company, they’ll dispatch police and they’ll investigate to make sure it's not somebody mischievously gaining access. It's not an override to safety systems to protect your stock. It prevents firefighters from breaking doors down and costing you $1,200 damage. I can verify if it was a false alarm and can re-secure the building."

Christman persisted he wants the right to say no.

"If you’re telling me it’s for my protection, you're going to save my door and the firemen are going to have access to my building much easier with the Knox Box," he said. "Then I say break the door. I should have that alternative."

Roger Lebow, owner of , also expressed concerns and added the borough's other jeweler, Cathy , to the list of those concerned. Calhoun could not be in attendance at the meeting.

"I spoke to Willie’s garage across the street from us," Lebow said. "They told me they could break into a vehicle, which is where a lot of these keys are kept, within less than a minute and take this master key to our whole town. That concerns a lot of people. I understand from the fire company, they don’t want to break down doors if they don’t have to. I do not disagree with this ordinance in the fact that the lock box is in place. Let it continue, but I just feel, along with a lot of our businesses in our community that it should be optional."

Lebow reiterated the fact that it is probably cheaper to cover the cost of a broken door than to maintain a security system for a Knox Box and/or handle the liability issues.

Borough Manager Michael Leonard said he's explored other communities, and found that both Limerick and Upper Providence townships enforce the ordinance.

Council President Tom Weikel confirmed after the meeting that the discussions will continue at the committee level.