Conneaut Lake Borough Council held the first meeting of the new year and began with a swearing in ceremony carried out by Mayor Tim Kaider.

The following were sworn in: Councilwoman Loretta Brenner, Councilwoman Terri Nye, Councilman Bill Paris, Councilman Richard Holabaugh and Per Capita/ Garbage Tax Collector Barbara Britton.

Richard Holabaugh was elected as the Borough Council President and John Chuey was elected as the Vice President of Council.

The appointments were as follows: Secretary/Treasurer: Linda Joyce, Assistant Secretary/Treasurer: Betty Sherman, Per Capita/ Garbage Tax Collector: Barbara Britton, Wage/Occupational Privilege Tax Collector: Teri Reaugh and Attorney: Jeff Millin of Shafer, Swick, Bailey, Irwin, Stack and Millin.

The Depository will be Marquette Savings and First National Bank of PA.

The mayor and Holabaugh were both appointed as representatives to the Police Commission. The Auditors will be McGill, Power, Bell.

Charles Hoogstad was appointed to the Zoning Hearing Board for three years. John Button will serve on the Conneaut Lake Municipal Authority, (CLMA), for five years. Terri Nye was appointed as Chairman Pro Tem in the event that Holabaugh and Chuey would be unable to lead a meeting.

After the reorganization aspect, the regular meeting took place.

The first person to speak was Mike Young of National Fuel Gas who approached the council about relocating some valves which are currently below the ground water level. This is in the beach region in an area north of the concession stands.

He presented Council with some sketches and imparted the plans to them.

The gas service would not be interrupted for the residents living along that stretch and the whole process would take less than a week, according to Young, with the line itself being shut off for about a day.

Young said his main reason for attending was to let Council know of the plan and to get the name of a contact person from the borough. Holabaugh told him that the secretary would be the one to contact and, for any legal questions or concerns, to contact Millin.

Holabaugh's concern was making certain that kids would not be able to play on or near the valves once they were moved.

Young said they would take care of the appropriate fencing, etc., in order to remedy the situation.

No action was taken officially. Young stated that he has about a year in terms of a time period. He said they would, more than likely, do the work during the off season when the beach area would be closed.

Next was Tom Graney who handed each Council member preliminary drafts of the updated zoning and subdivision ordinances.

This is all a part of a grant for the Comprehensive Plan carried out by Meadville, Vernon Township, Sadsbury Township and the Borough of Conneaut Lake.

He went over the ordinance in detail, handed out a zoning map and answered questions.

Graney said that they followed the current ordinance as closely as possible but, since it was last updated in the late 1960s, some changes were needed.

A question was asked about the parking stipulations in the ordinance in terms of restaurants. For every 2.5 seats, a parking space would be required. This would not be in play for anyone currently running a restaurant in the borough.

Graney explained about parking in general and said that historically parking standards have been drawn from two sources. One is by copying the standards from other ordinances and the second is by using studies carried out by traffic engineers and other entities.

“We try to cull reasonable midlevel parking requirements for this ordinance,” he explained.

When asked specifically about the Lighthouse Diner, on Water Street directly in the downtown region, the reply from Council members and Graney was that since it is already occupied, the parking would not apply.

However, any new person would have to comply when and if this is adopted.

The mayor said Council would review the draft and then asked where they could direct questions or concerns. He was told to work through the secretary and also through Brett Zook, Chairman of the Planning Commission.

The Planning Commission is holding an open meeting on February 16, at 7 PM at which time, anyone with questions would be welcome to attend and ask. The meeting will take place at the borough office located in what was formerly known as the Associated Contractors office off of Water Street.

Meanwhile, Council members are going to review the preliminary draft in order to study the situation thoroughly.

Mr. Mealy, of Water Street, expressed his displeasure with business owners not removing snow from the sidewalks. He said that other towns are cracking down on this by issuing warnings and carrying through with fines, if need be.

The sidewalks specifically mentioned are located in front of the laundromat, the old Dairy Mart building, the property that once housed the Gulf Station and those associated with Sheetz.

Residents and business owners are required to keep up with the sidewalks according to a maintenance portion of the ordinance.

Millin mentioned a specific ordinance and Mealy stated that the Planning Commission is working on a new sidewalk ordinance currently.

Ronald Dickson was praised by Council since he removes the snow on many of the sidewalks in the downtown area. Holabaugh said that he does this with his own equipment, gas, money, etc., and wanted to be sure to acknowledge him for doing so. He said there would be a lot more complaints in the borough if not for the efforts of Dickson.

Under Planning and Zoning, two new members, Mike Kribbs and Alice Mowris, were appointed, via motion, to the Planning Commission. Both were appointed to replace two members who stepped down and will serve for the remaining two years of the terms. The secretary was directed to contact both Kribbs and Mowris in order to fill them in on the particulars.

There had been some complaints about AA&B Surveying, the company that is carrying out the surveying for the proposed revitalization project in the downtown area.

Holabaugh said he had been told by some residents that the gentlemen were not notifying residents prior to entering their properties. He said they did not identify themselves and basically parked in driveways and walked around yards without letting the citizens know what was happening.

Holabaugh did approach the gents and told them that they needed to do a better job concerning letting residents know what was taking place.

Garbage was another complaint as the Waste Management Company said that some residents appear to be placing more than their share out for collection.

Secretary Joyce imparted that she asked for a list of the addresses in question and had not receive one yet. She was told by the company that the same citizens are abusing the restriction on garbage limitations.

Residents are reminded that two, 32-gallon cans are permitted. One time per month 200 extra pounds of garbage may be placed as well.

The next meeting of Conneaut Lake Borough Council will take place on Wednesday, February 10, at 7 PM. The meetings are held at the ambulance service building in Conneaut Lake. All residents are encouraged to attend.