Council discusses pool, police station

With members of Boy Scout Troop 72 on hand to observe, the Reynoldsville Borough Council make quick work of its agenda on November 20.

Ralph “Tucker” August chaired his first meeting as council president after assuming that position on November 6, replacing TJ Sliwinski, who resigned from council.

Reynoldsville Borough Pool Manager Jill Heffner reported the renovation fund drive is going slowly. The pool asked the public for help when a grant application was denied.

Council member John Burkett, who was sworn in on November 6 to finish out the term of the late Mary Jane Clark, asked about specific work that needed to be done. Heffner said she was concerned about the sand filter located in the pump room. The estimated cost of re-doing the filter and room was about $50,000.00. She said that was the most important thing on a long list of needs.

Burkett also suggested visiting with state and federal representatives to make a case for funding.

“I think you got to go see these people face to face,” he told Heffner. Burkett also noted that, in his opinion, when it comes to grant monies, Reynoldsville gets “the short end of the stick.”

In a brief update, Mayor Peach Caltagarone informed council he was waiting for a material estimate from the building trades shop at Jeff Tech for the police station remodeling. He is hoping to get that estimate before Thanksgiving.

Once the remodeling is done, the station will be moved back to its original location on the first floor of the borough building from the second floor. It will then be handicapped accessible. The department will retain storage upstairs.

Council member Robin McMillan reported that a meeting has been set for early December with the borough’s engineering firm, PVE Sheffler, to discuss grant writing.

Noise from a generator that’s being used to power a home on Worth Street was also a topic of discussion. The borough has received complaints and is investigating related ordinances. They also discussed the possibility of an inspection for a possible fire hazard.

Problems with broken streetlights was also discussed. Some lights have been reported to Penelec, but so far nothing has been done. Borough secretary Jaqueline Dixon said that if a resident wanted to report a streetlight outage, they should get the pole number and bring that information to the borough office.

The next regular meeting for Reynoldsville Council will be held December 18. In that meeting, council will take action on the 2020 budget and related taxes. The reorganization meeting will be held January 6, 2020.