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Cleona Borough Council discussed plans for future roadwork during the Dec. 2 meeting, where board member Samuel Wengert recommended setting aside about $100,000 per year to address the roads in the worst conditions over a 10-year plan.
He estimated the borough would need about $650,000 to $750,000 for the streets needing immediate attention, and that number could continue to increase with inflation.
“The streets are going to continue to deteriorate, so I’d like to come up with something of how much money we’re going to be putting back every year — come up with that 10-year plan,” Wengert said. “We know what streets need to be done, and hopefully we’ll have those accomplished within 10 years or less.”
He referenced a color-coded street map of the borough that was shared during the last meeting and provided numbered ratings for each road. There were many roads outlined in red, showing a low rating, along with even more on the cusp in yellow.
East Chestnut Street will be the biggest and most expensive project, but it “really needs to be taken care of,” according to Wengert.
Borough manager Jonathan Johnson said they haven’t decided how they will prioritize streets that are in the worst condition or how much money will be set aside each year.
“I need to sit down and look at the numbers and really figure that out,” Johnson said. “There is some flexibility in our budget.”
He said the roadwork discussion will likely continue during council’s January meeting.
Council also approved its meeting calendar for 2025. All meetings will be held at 7 p.m. at the borough building at 140 W. Walnut St.
- Jan. 6
- Feb. 3
- March 3
- April 7
- May 5
- June 2
- July 7
- Aug. 4
- Aug. 25 — budget meeting
- Sept. 8
- Sept. 22 — budget meeting
- Oct. 6
- Nov. 3
- Dec. 1
The zoning hearing board, planning commission and civil service commission will meet on an as-needed basis. The IPMC Group will meet on the fourth Tuesday of the month, the Parks and Recreation Board on the second Tuesday of the month, and the Cleona Sewer Authority on the first Wednesday of the month.
In other business, council:
- Unanimously approved Johnson’s two-step plan to address traffic safety concerns at the crosswalk at Penn Avenue and Grant Street where G.F. Bowman employees have shared concerns about crossing the road. The borough will repaint the crosswalk and add signage in the first phase and then look at getting flashing pedestrian signs to get the attention of drivers when someone is waiting to cross.
- Discussed member Doug Hartman’s upcoming resignation. Once his resignation is submitted and accepted, the council will have 45 days to bring a replacement on board. Solicitor Colleen Gallo recommended the board accept his resignation at the regular meeting in January to give them sufficient time to go through the process.
Cleona Borough Council will meet next on Dec. 16 at 5 p.m. to compile some final information about the upcoming borough building renovation project. They will also vote to approve the final budget at this time.
Council’s next regular meeting will be at 140 W. Walnut St. on Jan. 6 at 7 p.m.
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