Bowmanstown to hold meeting to discuss 2020 budget

Bowmanstown borough will hold a public meeting on at 7 p.m. Monday to discuss the budget for 2020. The meeting is open to the public.

The council also covered a variety of items on the agenda and answered questions from residents at their Tuesday night meeting.

Residents questioned the borough about a new amendment passed recently to an ordinance that set a time limit of 30 minutes for parking in three spots by 709 Lincoln Ave. The ordinance was passed in 2017 and covers a variety of items from specific parking time limits in the borough to site distances.

Mayor Zachary Snyder explained to them that the ordinance was passed by the council to keep parking available for the business.

“We want to be business friendly,” he said.

Since the borough does not have a police force of its own, Snyder intends to monitor vehicles that sit too long in a parking space and ticket those that violate the ordinance. If someone sees that a vehicle has been sitting there too long, then he or she should call the Borough office to report it, he said.

In other business, the borough was unable to rent a leaf truck in September, because neighboring municipalities already have it reserved every day of the week. Council member Rob Moyer asked if one is available somewhere else, and borough secretary Tracy Burbage said she found one in New Jersey near New York City. The council discussed other options.

Council Vice President Pam Leiby suggested giving the residents plastic leaf bags in a specific color that they could use to dispose of leaves in their yards. The council members decided to look into that option and discuss it at the next meeting in November.

From the committee reports:

• The Fire Committee received the 2019 Fire Relief Payment per Act 205 in the amount of $4,270.64, according to council member Kara Scott.

• Council member Rob Moyer of the Budget and Finance Committee said the borough received $1,867.86 from the Tax Claim Bureau for August 2019, $68.38 from the Magisterial District Court for August 2019 and $150 from the Liquor Control Board for fees issued Feb. 1 to July 31, 2019.

• Council member Norman Engle Jr. of the Property and Special Committee said he is researching information about cameras in order to install them in the tunnel that runs under Route 248.

• Engle is also a member of the Streets Committee and said the borough will be placing “no parking” signs on one side of Oak Street, while work is done on Lime Street. Limiting the parking will make it easier for the construction trucks to get through to the site.

• The borough office received six chairs for the office meeting table from Rodney Reeser and thanked him for his kind donation.

• Trick-or-treating for Halloween will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 26.