Myerstown Borough Council unanimously picks Greg Kemp for open seat

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

Myerstown Borough Council unanimously agreed to appoint resident Greg Kemp to an open council seat at its monthly meeting May 12.

The seat opened last month following the resignation of councilman Bryan Rittle, the second resignation this year after Stacey Hackman stepped down in February. However, while Hackman’s seat received four letters of interest from candidates who were interviewed by council, Kemp was the only application submitted for Rittle’s seat.

Council president Daniel Ebling said there was one application and one person who verbally expressed interest. He asked residents in attendance if they were interested, but as no residents were, Kemp was the only candidate interviewed.

Kemp, an excavator who was appointed to the water authority in a mixed vote in January, said obtaining a police force for Myerstown would be his priority as a councilman.

“I would like to be on council to help better the community, better residents, try and get a police force somehow, some way, so we have some kind of coverage, so our residents are protected,” he said when asked why he was interested in serving on council. When asked by councilman Todd Kahl what his plan would be to obtain police, Kemp said, “Honestly, without raising taxes quite a bit, I don’t see supporting our own police force. A one-man police force, I don’t think, is going to cut it. We’re going to probably have a hard time finding somebody that’s going to work for a borough that has one police officer. So we have to do something regional, in my eyes.”

Councilman Matthew Mulvaney asked Kemp if he had any major priorities other than public safety, to which Kemp responded that safety was his top priority but that he was also concerned about traffic violations on Main Street.

With no other questions from council members or residents in attendance, council unanimously agreed to appoint Kemp, with Mulvaney saying, “I have a good feeling about it, I think he’s on the same page.” Kahl added, “He’s here to get police same as the rest of us are.”

Kemp was sworn in by Mayor Dane Bicher following the completion of his paperwork. He then took a seat as a voting member for the rest of the meeting.

In other news, council:

• Agreed to rescind its previous decision to move the fence line around the pool during fence replacement due to public pushback from the decision, with Ebling abstained. The decision was initially made due to Ebling’s concerns that the fence was on his property, though this would require a survey to determine. Council also approved a $18,442.79 low quote for the project.
• Unanimously authorized the solicitor to prepare and advertise an ordinance restricting truck turns for trucks over 30 feet in length (except local deliveries) at South College and West Park, East Richland and South Broad, East Richland and South Railroad, East Main and South Broad, East Main and South Cherry, East Main and South Railroad, and East Main and Quarry. This has been in the works for over a year, manager Michael McKenna said, and required PennDOT approval for three intersections and traffic studies for all.
• Unanimously authorized McKenna to send a request for technical assistance to the state Department of Community & Economic Development for assistance with police feasibility and regionalization planning.
• Unanimously authorized the Myerstown Community Library Association to coordinate and fund an asphalt maintenance project for the library parking lot, with no financial contribution from the borough.
• Agreed to allow the use of borough property behind the public works building for a fireworks display from the Elmer C. Ebling Memorial Charity and approved the permit application/fee waiver request for the fireworks on May 25 beginning at 8:45 p.m., to occur alongside the carnival and America250 celebrations. Ebling abstained as he is the founder of the Elmer C. Ebling Memorial Charity.
• Unanimously approved temporary road closures of Railroad Street from the Northwest Bank drive-thru to Park Avenue and Main Avenue from College Street to Broad Street Sept. 26 from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the Myerstown Block Party.
• Following an executive session to discuss personnel matters, unanimously approved the 2026 community pool swim lessons as presented.
• Also following this executive session, approved the hiring of an employee to fill the administrative assistant position.
• Unanimously approved an event use application and agreement, subject to review from the solicitor, and a fee schedule for event use applications.
• Unanimously approved minutes and the payment of the bills, and heard reports.
• Heard that possible rental amendments will be discussed at council’s work session May 27.

Myerstown Borough Council holds its voting session the second Tuesday of each month and a work session the fourth Wednesday of each month. These meetings are open to the public and do not require prior registration.