Reynoldsville Council accepts the resignation of Police Chief Troy Bell effective March 31

A letter of resignation from the borough police chief was addressed at the Reynoldsville Borough Council meeting March 17.

Chief Troy Bell submitted his letter of resignation effective March 31. Chief Bell said in the letter that it was a “career move.” Reynlow News has learned he is taking the chief of police position at Brockway.

“I made this professional decision because it’s what’s best for me and family,” Chief Bell told Reynlow News.

Rumors about the move had been swirling around the borough for some time. Earlier in the meeting, Stacy Snedden of Reynoldsville asked council about it. She said she was hoping council would hire a replacement and not rely on the State Police for coverage. Chief Bell is the only borough police officer at this time as council voted in its 2021 budget not to fund part time officers relying on State Police coverage when Bell is not on duty.

Council President William Cebulskie said that the council would evaluate the situation and decide which way it wanted to go, but it would take some time to do so. Mayor Peach Caltagarone, who heads up the department, said action will be taken.

“We’re going to get it resolved,” he told Snedden.

Water authority

Council member Ralph “Tucker” August asked about the vacant position on the water and sewer authority board. He recommended Larry Baun (spelling corrected) be appointed. Initially, council president Cebulskie encouraged it be postponed until the results of the forensic audit is completed and the office is organized. He said there were no records to work with and he felt someone with accounting experience might be better suited.

“It’s really a mess,” he said.

Cebulskie said he felt Baun was the top candidate to complete the five member board and he would entertain such a motion, so the motion was made and approved.

Ordinances

Borough solicitor Joe Ryan reported that he recently met with engineers from the EADS Group and Sarah Caltagarone of the Reynoldsville Community Association (RCA) to discuss a zoning ordinance for the borough. The RCA has requested the ordinance to make the borough eligible for grants that require such an ordinance.

Ryan said he received an email estimating the cost at $23,750, but that cost is not the final word.

“We can try to modify that figure based on what we feel the borough needs or doesn’t need,” Ryan said.

On the games of skill ordinance, Ryan provided a list of businesses who have machines that would be affected. Cebulskie said the list should be referred to committee to “come up with a plan.”

Code enforcement

Council accepted the resignation of former code enforcement officer Larry Kirkwood, which was submitted in February but the acceptance was postponed until all his duties were completed.

Council member Nichole Walk was named as the code enforcement officer at last month’s meeting.

Other action

Council was provided with a list of streets and alleys for the summer paving project. A motion was approved to get the estimated costs for the project.

When asked about Fifth Street beside BILO, which had been torn up to repair a water leak, Cebulskie said that it will be looked at, but in the meantime the water authority would patch the area.

Mayor Caltagarone asked that the old tennis court at the borough park be placed on the paving list as well. He said street hockey players use it a lot and it would be nice to get it paved. The borough crew will measure the area to include on the list.

On another issue, Mayor Caltagarone informed council he missed the deadline for filing for office in the upcoming elections, but he plans to organize a write-in campaign.

Updated 3/17/21 9:35 p.m.