Weatherly Borough officials are taking steps to make the borough's recycling program sustainable - not only ecologically, but financially as well.

Mayor/Council President Thomas Connors would like the borough to start collecting clothes for recycling, using the proceeds to help the annual electronic recycling event the borough holds with Packer, Lehigh and Lausanne townships.On Thursday, council gave Connors permission to build a shed for clothing collection at the borough's recycling center.The proceeds from the collection would go to defray the cost of the borough's annual electronic recycling event.The annual electronic recycling went up in cost this year to $600 from $400, because the cost to recycle the materials has increased.Connors said the clothes recycling could cover the borough's share of that, and more. He explained that clothes recycling has had success at the Carbon County Animal Shelter. Residents would place bagged, used clothes - which must be in usable condition - and a company comes to collect them when they have received a minimum of 100.Connors said the normal payment for 100 bags can be as high as $400.Borough council also agreed to solicit bids for its summer road work project.The borough plans to repave a section of Packer Street between Third and Seventh streets.Borough manager Harold Pudliner Jr. said that efforts to patch the section of road have been unsuccessful.Connors said that section of road sees heavy traffic from Weatherly school buses.Pudliner said that the borough's liquid fuels money doesn't cover as much as it used to. He said when he started they could pave about 18,000 square yards with the money - but the Packer street project is just 4,700. It is the only major roadwork project planned for 2016, and officials hope to get underway in mid-summer.Council also agreed to set the dates for three major events.The annual Weatherly Hillclimb auto races will be held June 11-12 and Sept. 17-18. The Weatherly Festival will be held Aug. 26-27.