The Tamaqua Borough Council approved increasing the municipal donation to the Tamaqua Public Library by $1,000 above last year’s donation.

This year’s appropriation from the borough is increased from $5,000 to $6,000, with Councilman Tom Cara, who chairs the Neighborhoods, Downtown and Historic District Committee, making the motion for the increase, seconded by Vice President Brian Connely.

Cara explained that the library serves an important part of the community and needs the financial support.

“I’ve been sitting on the library board and they struggle to try to make ends meet,” Cara said. “I know we struggle, too, (as a borough), but we have a much larger budget that we’re working with than the library.”

Before the vote, Councilman Micah Gursky said, “I agree with the support. The library is heavily used. A lot of people think that nobody uses libraries anymore, but it is exactly the opposite. When you go down there during the day, people are reading books, magazines and newspapers, they’re working our their resumes, they’re online doing research.”

The council voted unanimously to increase the donation.

Library board of trustees member and building director Eric Knadler thanks the council for its donation.

“I appreciate the work of Tom Cara for the library. Thank you very much,” Knadler said. “Also thanks to Kevin Steigerwalt (borough manager). The Wabash (culvert) has been of concern to the library, and with that being repaired, it’s a weight off the shoulders of the library. Thank you both and to the council. We appreciate it.”

In his report to the council, Borough Manager Kevin A. Steigerwalt said the Wabash Creek culvert rehabilitation project that will repair areas of masonry walls within the culvert. The water of Wabash Creek is carried through the culvert under the borough and empties into the Little Schuylkill River.

“The Wabash culvert repair project is coming along very well as it has been during the construction,” Steigerwalt explained. “All the wall work is completed.”