Changes in New Milford boro council

There were some shake-ups Thursday, March 2, in the New Milford Borough Council.
Councilman Shawn Carey announced his resignation from the borough council to take a position filling a vacancy on the Blue Ridge School Board (see story on Page 4).
His resignation was accepted, with regret by the borough council.
With Carey’s departure, council moved to fill the vacancy with Kerin Welch.
Welch – who had already planned to run for council in the May Primary – was sworn in by Mayor Scott Smith at the end of the meeting. Welch has been very active on the borough’s Recreation board over the past several years.
Council approved a $300 donation to Blue Ridge Recreation – an increase in the budgeted amount by council from previous years.
The borough building was approved by council to be used in an emergency situation by New Milford Headstart, as part of the school emergency plan.
Councilman Ken Carey, who represents the borough in the Council of Government (COG), reported that Friendsville Borough had left COG membership. Montrose Borough had also recently left COG.
In the streets report it was noted a resident was allegedly stopping fuel and garbage trucks and not allowing them to cross the bridge on Maple Street.
Council President Rick Ainey noted the Maple Street bridge has the highest tonnage capacity of all the restricted bridges in the borough at three tons. The bridges on Church Street have two ton weight limits.
A member of council will address the concern. “It’s not our business to stop trucks,” Ainey said.
The borough has ordered a street sweeper which is expected to be in soon.
Council also discussed potential Dirt and Gravel road or low-volume road projects that could be done in the borough. It was noted that the poor drainage on Johnston Street could qualify for the program.
The borough will ask the Susquehanna County Conservation District to come look at the problem area on Johnston Street.
As the borough moves closer to adopting an updated zoning ordinance, some work sessions to go through the plan will be scheduled.
The council approved hiring a contractor to paint the gazebo in Midtown Park at a cost of $6,450. It is expected that the project will be completed prior to Memorial Day services at the park.
The borough website is expected to launch in mid-April.
Council approved the hiring of a back-up summer public works employee. Emory Thorn III will be the on-call, seasonal worker for both the borough and municipal authority.
Compensation for the borough tax collector was set at five percent of the taxes collected, as allowable by law. This change rescinded a previous motion to pay the collector $3 per bill, which the borough found out exceeded the allowable amount.
Following the introduction of the Earned Income Tax, council eliminated property taxes in the borough, but opted to keep one mill taxed to help fund the fire company.