Tamaqua reappoints Mace as president

Tamaqua Borough Council reorganized Monday night, but the most faces will remain the same. Councilmen Tom Cara, Ronald Bowman, Brian Connely, and Robert Amentler were re-elected to four-year terms in November, and Councilwoman Mary Linkevich was elected to serve a two-year term.

After the oaths of officer were administered by District Magistrate Stephen Bayer, Council selected David Mace to continue serving as council president. Connely was reappointed as vice president, and Cara was nominated to serve as president Pro Tem.

Anthony Odorizzi will now serve as the borough’s solicitor, replacing longtime solicitor Michael Greek, who was elected district attorney in Carbon County.

Following the reorganization, council held a brief regular meeting. Members of the fire department asked the parking and traffic committee to review the parking situation at the intersection of Hunter and Orwigsburg streets.

Borough manager Kevin Steigerwalt said Schuylkill County has approved the demolition of properties at 209 and 211 Lombard St., and 200 and 202 Pitt St. Council approved the advertisement of bids for the demolition.

Council moved to retain Greg Kurtz as the zoning and code enforcement officer at the end of his probationary period on Jan. 8.

Cara presented photos of several eye sores around town and asked council to consider what can be done to get property owners to fix sidewalks and remove abandoned vehicles. “If we want our town to look better, we need to take action on some of these things,” he said. Cara also asked council to consider providing council members with laptops to cut back on the amount of paper waste that is generated.

Mace said the borough has completed a paving project on Owl Creek road over the last year. He asked council members to consider pursuing a similar project on Cedar Street, which he called “one of the most heavily traveled roads in town.”