Two Jonestown Borough council member resignations accepted, one vacancy filled

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Jonestown Borough Council approved the resignations of president Tom Keefer and member Rick Kline on April 1, then appointed and swore in Dan Shuman to Kline’s vacated position.

Solicitor Colleen Gallo said the two former council members shared their resignations via email in March and did not provide a reason for the decisions. She said Kline’s resignation was effective March 19 and Keefer’s was effective March 31.

Shuman will fill Kline’s seat until January, after a replacement is elected in November and then finishes the two remaining years of Kline’s four-year term.

Shuman is also running for a term on the council this election cycle. The other candidates are Zayne Hunsicker, Lynn Kleinfelter, and Amber White.

Similarly, Keefer’s replacement will serve until a newly elected individual takes over in January. Keefer’s term was expiring anyway, so that person will serve the entire four-year term.

Shuman’s appointment was a unanimous vote, but council member Madisyn Breiner initially raised concerns about transparency. She said she would rather make the information public so people would have time to express interest in filling the seat.

“I just wanted there to be an opportunity for everyone,” Breiner said after the meeting. “[I’m a] big fan of transparency — just wanted everyone to be aware of it.”

April 1 was the first time this information was shared at a public meeting. The agenda was not posted on the borough website as required by the Sunshine Act. The paper agenda available in person at the meeting had bullet points to accept Keefer’s and Kline’s resignations and to discuss vacancies and appoint replacements.

Councilman Jeffrey Schott took Keefer’s place asking for motions and seconds at the meeting. He said he wanted to move forward with filling at least one vacancy so council would be more likely to have a quorum at its next workshop and meeting.

Gallo said Shuman likely heard about Kline’s resignation through word of mouth and emailed his resume for consideration. Schott said he shared the resume with council and gave an opportunity for them to ask questions, which they did not. Any interview process would have had to happen at a public meeting, according to the Sunshine Act.

Keefer’s seat must now be filled within 45 days of the acceptance, or it will move to the vacancy board.

Market Street project updates

Council received positive updates and discussed the two-phased project in the square, which would bring curb extensions and curb bump-outs and extend the sidewalks.

Jonestown received two grants — one for each part of the project — totaling over $1 million, but it would be required to pay around $776,000 out of the borough’s account. Council discussed the possibility of just doing one phase, both, or neither due to the increasing out-of-pocket costs, and decided to go to the county to see if more funds were available.

Engineer Stacy Longenecker said he received good news on this front, with about $778,000 possibly being available. This would cover the entire shortfall.

“Nobody’s saying yes, of course, but we did get positive feedback that there may be some money available, and there may be enough money available to do most of the project,” he said. “Until we know more with the money, I’m not sure which way you’re going to go.”

He said PennDOT wants the project to be bid in December, with construction in 2027. With council’s delayed decision, they are about four months behind on that timeline.

“I know you don’t have all the information to make that decision. I’m just making you aware,” Longenecker said.

He recommended council hold a private informational meeting where he could fully explain the extent of the project and the grants. No deliberation or decision can happen at this closed-door meeting — it is entirely for informational purposes.

St. John’s Cemetery

Council also voted for the borough to take over the care of St. John’s cemetery in exchange for $100,000. The St. John’s United Church of Christ is selling its building, and the church asked the borough to take over rather than the congregation that is taking over the building. They will also pay any costs associated with the transfer.

A church representative at the meeting said they don’t know how long the new church will be staying, so they didn’t want care responsibilities to change hands multiple times.

“Our lawyer thought that it’d be best to turn it over to the borough because there should always be a municipality,” he said. “That church may fold and then they have to turn it around and try to find somebody to do it, but if properly maintained, that money should last everyone’s lifetime.”

He said they pay the current mower $165 per mowing, for a total of $5,115 in 2024.

“If you don’t want to have your maintenance people do it, he already agreed he would do it for that price this year,” he said.

Council agreed to put the money in a separate account where it will only be used for the cemetery’s care. Council member Donnette Quairoli recommended council store the money in a savings account or another similar option so it can earn interest.

The decision to continue with the man currently mowing the area will happen at a later meeting so it can be on the agenda.

In other business, council: 

• Voted to increase the rate for the summer groundskeeper from $14 per hour to $14.25 after several years without a raise. Mayor Joe Quairoli said this will be an increase of $96 per year.
• Approved the yearly egg hunt, which will happen on April 19 at the baseball fields. Michael Carmel with the Jonestown Legion said they will start setting up around 8:30 a.m. for the hunt to begin at 10. He said they will be cleaned up around midday.
• Voted to allow the Memorial Day parade to move forward with all necessary road closures. Nate Carpenter, who presented the request, said they usually shut down the roads at the last minute before starting the parade at 9 a.m. on May 26.
• Decided not to go for a grant to improve the George H. Kaufman Community Park, citing the borough’s financial situation. Breiner said the grant would have required the borough to use some of its own money, which would almost entirely drain the parks and recreation funds.

Jonestown Borough Council will have its next regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. May 6 at 295 S. Mill St.