SHENANDOAH - The borough council welcomed its new councilman at Monday's meeting and accepted the resignation of another.
Mayor Andrew Szczyglak swore in Robert Shortt before the main business was conducted. The borough council appointed Shortt in August to fill the vacancy created when Szczyglak resigned in July to take the post of mayor.
Later in the meeting, borough secretary Mary Lou Buchinsky read Councilman John Szczyglak's resignation, who did not attend the meeting. John Szczyglak said he was resigning "due to family obligations," effective immediately.
Council President Leo Pietkiewicz asked for a motion to accept the resignation "with deep regret." The council accepted the resignation.
"I'd like to thank John for all of the time and dedication he put into this borough," Pietkiewicz said. "He was definitely an asset."
Borough residents can submit a letter of interest at Borough Hall to be considered to fill the vacancy.
During the mayor's report, Andrew Szczyglak said he and police are dealing with problems, many discussed during the public part of the meeting.
"I do know there is a problem with the pit bulls, with ATVs and off-road vehicles," Szczyglak said. "There was a situation where I was called where there was a pit bull running loose on White Street near the post office. I'm just assuring the public that the police are aware of what is going on. I know you (the public) would like to see results immediately but I'm sorry, that can't happen, but the police are dealing with it. Please be patient with me. The situation is being addressed."
Szczyglak said businesses must place "no loitering" signs visible to the public in order for the police to enforce the restriction and make arrests if necessary.
"It's difficult. There was a situation in front of the One Stop Shop. I'd like to thank the owner, who has been working with us," Szczyglak said. "It's not corrected 100 percent but I do think the loitering problem has gone down."
Szczyglak said anyone who sees a problem should call the police.
"The police had 502 calls for the month of August. I feel the officers are doing an OK job. Can they do better in some areas? Yes. I'm working with them on that," he said. "We're doing our best with what we have."
Later in the meeting, the council approved the addition of Joshua Pastucka to the part-time police roster.
The post of police chief has been vacant since July with the resignation of Joseph Hall. Capt. George Carado is the officer in charge until the vacancy is filled.
In other business, borough Manager Joseph L. Palubinsky told the council that the Schuylkill County Tax Claim Bureau received the borough's bids for the repository sale of 236 S. Gilbert St., 332 W. Poplar St., 309-311 S. Jardin St. and 213 Furnace St. The borough will buy the properties for $20 each, plus costs, to demolish them. The council approved the purchases.
It also approved seven change orders involving Phase IV of the Streetscape project. Six of the change orders were increases in cost, with the last being a reduction. The total project cost increase is $27,748.78.
In a related matter, the borough council approved an application from the engineers for a payment on the construction project of $107,806.71. The borough will retain 10 percent, bringing the total payment to $97,026.04.
During his report, borough solicitor Michael O'Pake said that with the Shenandoah Valley School District restricting all parking along Stadium Road, he suggested that borough council amend an ordinance that would allow borough police to ticket vehicles parked illegally along the road, which is school district property, through the ordinance rather than through the state motor vehicle code.
"Our ordinance needs to be amended slightly so our police officers can issue tickets through the ordinance," O'Pake said. "We're basically mimicking the state vehicle code, but the amendment would allow the police to issue tickets as a municipal violation. We'll insert language to allow us to issue tickets on private property."
Councilman Raymond Nestor said a private road generally used by the public is called a traffic way and police can enforce laws there.
Borough council approved a request from St. Casimir Roman Catholic Church to have a no parking restriction on the 100 block of West Penn Street to allow access to the parish hall for its Chinese auction on Oct. 7.
Palubinsky announced that the borough will receive a Large Project Assistance Grant of $108,000 from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency for repairs to the sewage treatment plant for damage incurred during the severe rain storms earlier this year.