Council names Citizen of the Month and handles a full agenda at its April meeting

Reynoldsville Borough Council presented its Citizen of the Month Award and took care of other business at its regular meeting on April 21.

Todd Beers, a Reynoldsville native, was named Citizen of the Month for May. Beers was instrumental in helping the borough obtain a grant for the pool and the veterans memorial park. He has also assisted in other grant applications.

“It was all time he volunteered to the community, so we thought it would be nice to show him some appreciation for his concern for his hometown,” stated Council President William Cebulskie.

Request for chickens

Borough resident Kyle Gordon submitted a request on behalf of his five-year-old daughter Tauriel who wants to raise chickens on their Third Street property. He said Tauriel has done her research and would like to be a farmer someday.

Council approved the request, reminding her that the borough ordinance does not allow roosters.

Pool grant denied

Cebulskie read from a letter he received that informed the borough a grant request for the Reynoldsville Pool has been denied. The request was to the Pennsylvania Greenways, Trails and Recreation Program through the PA Department of Community and Economic Development.

This is the second year the pool request has been denied.

“Well, it looks like we’ll have to try again,” Cebulskie said.

There’s been no word on the multimodal grant. The State Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced its multimodal grant awards earlier this month, but the Reynoldsville application was through a different organization. (Corrected 4/22/21.)

Garbage bills

Borough Secretary Jacqueline Dixon said she fielded 140 calls last week from people who noticed an increase in their garbage bills from Advanced Disposal. The current contract runs until the end of 2022, so there should be no increase.

Dixon said residents who notice an increase in their bill should call the borough office at 814.653.2110 and not the number on bill, nor should they leave a message on Facebook. She said it was a mistake in the company’s billing system.

Games of skill ordinance

Borough solicitor Joe Ryan had nothing to report on the proposed games of skill ordinance, but Council Member Robin McMillan offered her thoughts.

She said she felt that with businesses recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, now would not be a good time to tax the games of skills machines.

Council took no action on the proposal.

Summer street paving list

Council approved a change to the proposed list of streets to be paved this summer.

Some work was completed on Fifth Street beside BILO this week to fill in an area that had been dug up for a water line repair late last year.

The plan was to pave that street, but Council President Cebulskie said he was talking to a representative from B.K. Asphalt who recommended it not be paved this year due to the fact the road is still settling from the dig.

Fifth Street was removed from the list and a stretch of Hill Street was added.

Dog park

At the monthly work session on April 7, a resident suggested a dog park be established in the borough. At this meeting the council was informed by Solicitor Ryan that someone approached him and offered to provide funding for the project. That donor asked to remain anonymous.

Ryan also said he didn’t think insurance for the park would be a problem.

Council discussed possible locations but didn’t take any action.

Meeting dates

A motion was approved to adjust the council meeting dates for the summer. Work sessions will be held on Wednesday May 5, Tuesday June 1, and Tuesday September 7 at 6 p.m. Works sessions are held at the borough office on Main Street.

Regular meetings will be held on Tuesdays beginning May 25 at 6 p.m. at the fire hall. The other Tuesday meetings will be June 15, July 20, August 17, and September 21.