The letter also announced that attorney Steven French has joined the firm and that either French of partner John Drayer could serve as borough legal counsel.

Council voted to appoint French, who also serves as legal counsel for Clarion Borough, as legal counsel effective May 1. French will be invited to the next borough work session.

Taxes

Cotherman said he attended a county-sponsored meeting on a plan to change the assessment ratio on property tax from 75 percent to 100 percent.

Should the change be adopted by the county, the borough would have to reduce its property tax rate so there would be no increase in the amount property owners would pay to the borough.

Cotherman estimated the borough would have to reduce the basic property tax rate from 7.555 mills to 5.667 mills and the fire tax rate from .88 to .66 mills. He said he would check with the county to confirm that estimate.

State law limits tax increases following a ratio change to no more than 5 percent.

Churches are exempt from municipal taxes, but Trinity Lutheran sent the borough some money anyway.

Cotherman said the church sent a check for $200 and a letter explaining that while Trinity Lutheran was tax exempt, the congregation wanted to express its appreciation to the borough and to those on borough council for the work they do for the community.

Sewers

Cotherman said he would attend a meeting of the Paint-Elk Joint Sewer Authority to discuss the possibility of connecting the borough’s sewage collection system to the authority’s treatment system.

He said the move could cost the borough $1 million to cover the cots of upgrading Paint-Elk’s treatment plant to handle the extra load, plus the cost of installing pumps and pipelines needed to make the connection.

Council had no objection to Cotherman attending the meeting.

Council member Paul Boorech said flows in the sewer system are staying low, following elimination of some of the stormwater from the system. Even with heavy rains and snowmelt, flows are only about half of what they were last year.

Cotherman said that, on average, flows are about 25 percent of what they had been before the borough sealed its manholes with inserts last summer.

Parks & streets

Council member Shane Haines suggested the council consider building permanent rest rooms at Woodburn Park rather than renting portable toilets

Other council members said that would be too expensive and the borough should continue renting portable units, including a handicapped-accessible unit.

Council voted to repair the grills at the park for about $50 each; the grills are deteriorating and need heavier metal on the firebox. New grills would cost $145 each and would need to be cemented in.

The baseball association told the borough it would mow the ball fields through the end of July as before. The borough will do the moping after that.

Boorech suggested the borough could save money if it carried out sprint street sweeping itself rather than contracting for the service, which he said was “a considerable expense” last year.

Borough crews said they could do the sweeping in the evenings when there was less traffic, Boorech said.

Council members expressed concern for the crew’s safety, especially at intersections with U.S. Route 322, but if the crew uses flares, flashing lights, warning signs and safety vests, safety should be adequate.