Mount Pocono receives two garbage bids

by Pat Labano

At Mount Pocono Borough Council’s work session January 17, borough manager Josh Walker told council he received bids from National Waste and GFL for garbage pickup. GFL’s prices were lowest. These bids were to be discussed at the February 7 meeting.

About the maintenance garage project, mayor Randy Altemose and council president Don Struckle met with engineers and the architect and told council that “bids will be forthcoming.” Struckle added that “we are afraid we will be over budget this project was put together years ago.”

The mayor added, “there is much to be done before 2024.” Council member Lori Noonan asked how long construction will take and was told six months. Grant money will be used.

Council also discussed a vehicle purchase. Manager Walker stated, “Our vehicles are out of date [1995] and need repairs.” In the last three years Mount Pocono has spent (about) $17,000 in repairs. Noonan suggested purchasing a truck from another municipality. Struckle asked Walker to “get prices from dealerships with the possibility of financing both a truck and a chassis.”

Struckle added, “we are just

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Continued from page 1 called CareerLink with focus on health care careers as well as clerical and non-clerical health care jobs. CareerLink offers professional development and networking opportunities for 12th grade students.

Several student council presentations discussed annual blood drives with West High School donating 27 pints of blood and MCTI’s participation in a Cyber Defense Competition which puts high school students in charge of certain networks.

MCTI participated in over 57 competitions ranging from auto and collision repair carpentry, criminal justice, and medical technology.

Dr. Catherine Sweeney, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, discussed STEAM [Science Technology, Engineering, looking into this which does not mean we are buying.”

The tree ordinance was also discussed. Council member Norm Delano said “We were waiting for changes from the zoning officer.” A conservation expert was consulted and noted that this ordnance might not be enforceable unless trees are “dead, dying or possess a threat to property.”

There was discussion on short-term rental properties. Council member Debra Fulton stated, “there is no sense of community if more and more short-term rentals occur.”

Altemose added, “there is only a small percentage of rentals which are problematic within community.” Current fee schedules were revised last year.

Art and Math] with a presentation of “Building the future one star at a time—full Steam ahead.” In this program student logo designs are showcased.

7th graders were on hand to give directors a demonstration of rocket racers and Newtons’ laws of motion. The future of STEAM centers on students building solar powered machines and bringing drones into the classroom— one day hoping to build a solar powered drone. School board member Ronnie Byrd was impressed with the STEAM presentation and offered to donate $500 to this program. This received a round of applause from everyone. Chief financial officer Joseph Collazo discussed a $250,000 reduction in the budget from the last meeting. There were no additional questions from the community.

The final item for discussion centered on the proposed dog park. Council felt that plans need to be updated. Fulton asked, “Why can’t we come up with a simple document to avoid expenses? There are many online templates.”

Struckle asked Walker to call Coolbaugh and Paradise Townships to see what they did with their dog parks.

Fulton reiterated, “this is getting too complicated and expensive—and Struckle added “why can’t we do this in-house?”

Delano reported “the newsletter has enough advertising to go ahead with publication.” There was some disagreement over the proposed name for the newsletter as “The Fort,” with Ann Marie Harris stating, “the council has not met to discuss this.”

Parks and recreation stated they will meet on Thursday, and that they have many fundraising ideas. They are also looking into lighting the walking trail.