Jonestown Borough Council weighs new rules to curb park misconduct

This article was funded by LebTown donors as part of our Civic Impact Reporting Project.

Jonestown Borough Council briefly discussed considering an ordinance that would specifically address sexual conduct on borough properties during a short June 3 meeting, with four of seven council members present.

Daniel Shuman, during the introduction of the agenda item, said the policy would address recent illegal activities in the park. He didn’t give details, but said adding to existing ordinances would provide clear guidelines the borough could enforce and would show it doesn’t support the behavior.

“[It is] just kids hanging out there doing what they’re not supposed to do, messing with equipment, being there when they’re not supposed to, smoking, just making a mess and not cleaning it up — nothing major,” he said after the meeting. “I just think it’s a good thing to have in case something does happen, so we’re covered, and we can say we have a policy that says this can’t happen on our property.”

Council reviewed the borough’s ordinances online. There is an ordinance against disorderly conduct, but public sexual conduct is not explicitly defined or prohibited through ordinances.

The proposal will be added to a future meeting’s agenda for further discussion.

Council also reviewed a new document that will be updated and shown at future meetings outlining the borough’s finances.

The spreadsheet displays the monthly income and expenses and calculates the difference between the two numbers. Shuman said it’s still a work in progress, and they will add the previous year’s monthly finances to make it easier to compare.

For example, some months like May and June typically see higher borough income because that is when the tax revenue comes in, solicitor Colleen Gallo said. Comparing months to the same timeframe during the previous year would be a better financial indicator of earning and spending patterns.

Looking at the 2025 numbers, the borough started out the first three months in a deficit, but started bringing in more money than it was spending in April. In May, the surplus jumped even further. Year-to-date, with only the first five months included, the borough is positive about $53,740.

Gallo said this pattern of running a deficit at the beginning of the year is typical across municipalities.

Jonestown Borough Council will have its next regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on July 1 at 295 S. Mill St.