Cornwall borough officials address concerns of unauthorized swimmers near water reservoir
The Cornwall Police Department will meet with representatives of the Elizabethtown Borough Water Authority to discuss the issue of unauthorized swimmers seen in the authority's water reservoir in Cornwall.
Borough council was informed by a resident in June that about 30 people had parked near Miner's Village and hiked to the open ore mine pit, which now serves as a reservoir. Council members asked their solicitor to notify the water authority about the issue.
The body of water is owned by the authority, but the land surrounding the man-made lake is owned by Cornwall Properties, an entity owned by Byler Enterprises. Byler Enterprises and the water authority both said in response letters that they are willing to meet with council, if council wishes to do so.
Cornwall resident Raymond Fratini recommended that fishing be allowed at the lake as a recreational activity. Fratini, a fisherman, said he would welcome the chance to cast a line into the lake.
National Night Out
Council members also approved a National Night Out event on August 1 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., to be sponsored by the police department. This will be the 14 year National Night Out has been celebrated across the country to encourage a partnership between the police and the community.
Multiple law enforcement departments and fire companies will participate, including the Lebanon County SWAT Team, the Lebanon County District Attorney's office, the PA Dog Law Officer and the Cornwall, Quentin and Mount Gretna fire departments.
Community organizations such as Rails to Trails, Lebanon County Area Agency on Aging, Life Lion, and Cornwall Iron Furnace will also be present, as well as representatives of the U. S. Army and U. S. Marine Corps. WINK 104 and the Lebanon County Dairy Princess will be there, and Patches Creamery ice cream and food trucks will be available.
The event will be held across from the Cornwall Elementary School, rain or shine.
Part-time police officer hired
Council approved the hiring of John Zatorski to serve as a part-time police officer for the borough. Zatorski retired from the Lebanon Police Department and serves as a resource officer for the Cornwall-Lebanon Middle School.
Monday's meeting was the first council meeting to be held in the borough office building on Rexmont Road in a year. During that time meetings were held at a variety of remote locations while the maintenance garage area was being turned into a bona fide meeting room.
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The council first held a meeting in the garage several years ago when it expected a large gathering of people to attend a meeting where the council planned discuss the increasing problem of feral cats in the borough, in response to complaints.
Later the council decided to hold the meetings there permanently when monthly attendance began to exceed the available seating in the regular meeting room. The council talked about eliminating the large garage doors, finding a substitute for the large industrial heating fan on the ceiling and hiding visible maintenance storage cabinets and shelving.
Attendees of this Monday's meeting were surprised to see the renovation went beyond basic cosmetic work. The space has been turned into a genuine meeting room with painted walls, floor trim, new doors leading to storage rooms, windows in a wall where the garage doors were located, carpet tiles over the concrete floor, and a suspended ceiling.
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Council member Ron Ricard thanked and gave credit to Raymond Fratini, president of a borough's planning commission, and a contractor, for donating his time to creating the new room. Fratini gave credit to the borough maintenance crew for helping with the project.
Borough residents can see the transformed space when the council holds a "Coffee With Council" session in the room, Wednesday, July 12 at 10:30 a.m.
This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Cornwall officials deal with unauthorized swimmers near reservoir
