Shenandoah to hire full-time police officer; update given on Safe Routes to Park program

Jun. 20—SHENANDOAH — The borough is adding a new full-time officer to its police force.

At Monday's monthly meeting, the borough council approved the tentative hiring of Mark Hysock, pending final background approval.

Hysock, of Shenandoah Heights, will join the Shenandoah police department as its fifth full-time officer. The department also has five part-time officers, in addition to a part-time school resource officer at Shenandoah Valley School District.

Also at the meeting, the council was given an update from Mandy Fitzpatrick, executive director of Schuylkill County's VISION, about the borough's participation in the Safe Routes to Parks program.

The Schuylkill County nonprofit was one of four organizations in Pennsylvania selected for the Safe Routes Partnership for parks, which awards grants to help develop plans for safe and equitable access to parks and green spaces in communities.

The Safe Routes Partnership also operates the Safe Routes to School initiative.

"We selected Shenandoah as the community we would be working in," Fitzpatrick said. "Basically, what is happening is we are partnering with the national Safe Routes Partnership to get technical assistance to look at access to the parks in Shenandoah — how we get to them and how we use them — to make them safe and accessible for all."

Schuylkill County's VISION held a two-day workshop in Shenandoah in May, and it is now working on developing action plans with the Safe Routes program, Fitzpatrick said.

Currently, she said, the organization is focused on implementing "early action steps," or small steps toward expanding safe routes and access to parks via events, park upgrades and promotional activities.

Fitzpatrick said the Safe Routes Partnership will ultimately develop an action plan that would include ways to bolster the safety and accessibility of the borough's parks.

"It will not happen overnight," she said. "It'll be a plan that they will be able to use to prioritize ... access to the parks, as well as to seek additional funding."

Water authority sale

Another topic of discussion was the sale of the Municipal Authority of the Borough of Shenandoah.

As residents voiced opposition to the sale, councilman Joe Boris raised a motion to set up a special meeting ahead of July 13, when the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission is scheduled to issue a final decision on the sale.

That motion was denied, however, as the council voted 3-2 against holding a meeting next week to consider rescinding its approval of the sale.

Council members William Selbi, James Burke and president Katie Catizone voted against the motion, while Diane Korenda and Boris — who were not on the council at the time it approved the sale — voted in favor.

In November 2020, the borough council approved the sale of the water authority assets to Aqua, a private water company, for about $12 million.

Boris was one of seven Shenandoah residents who testified about the sale at a public input hearing administered by the PUC in March.

At that hearing, Boris criticized what he believed to be a poor transaction for the borough, pointing out that initial appraisals of the assets placed their value at $18 million to $25 million.

CDBG funding

Before the council meeting, Ron Zimmerman, Schuylkill County grants manager, addressed council members and residents at a public hearing regarding the Community Development Block Grant Program for the 2023 fiscal year.

Zimmerman said that although allocations have not yet been announced, the borough will receive around $97,000 through the program for the coming year. The borough must use the funding within three years after it is awarded.

"According to federal regulations and guidelines, these funds must be used for activities that benefit low- to moderate-income persons or to eliminate slum and blight," Zimmerman said.

He said CDBG funds from the previous fiscal year are expected to be awarded by the end of the month.

In years past, the borough has used CDBG funds for improvements to Girard Park; demolition; code enforcement; and street improvements. The 2022 funds were budgeted for North Market Street upgrades and demolition, Zimmerman said.

Other business

The council approved the following agenda items:

—Repository sale bid for vacant lot at 109 Rock St. and property at 224 W. Coal St.

—Handicap parking for 625 W. Coal St. and 627 W. Coal St.

—Permission for Kristopher Fessler, Schuylkill County Office of Public Safety, to assign the address of 418 S. Main St. to the parcel #64-01-0031 and to assign the address of 730 W. Centre St. to the sewer authority pump house.

—Request by Shenandoah Heights Fire Company to hang banners at Main and Centre streets to advertise its upcoming 100th anniversary on July 1.

—Request by Michelle Gulden to hold Shenandoah's first-ever townwide yard sale at 9 a.m. July 22. There will be a $5 permit fee, with all proceeds going to the Shenandoah Area Free Public Library.

—Request by Rescue Hook & Ladder Company #1 to block East Coal Street from North White Street to North Main Street from Aug. 4 through Aug. 6; and a request to have no parking on Aug. 4 in the 200 block of North Main Street for a truck parade at 7:30 p.m. that day.

Contact the writer: hlee@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6085