Tuesday’s mild weather had Tamaqua Borough Council looking forward to the summer on Tuesday night, taking care of business concerning the Howard D. Buehler Memorial Pool.

Thanks to the generosity of the Morgan Foundation, the pool’s annual operating expenses will not be a concern for borough leaders.

This will again enable patrons to pay a small $10 fee for a season pass. The foundation has provided such a grant since 2004, according to borough manager Kevin Steigerwalt.

While the Morgan grant goes a long way in keeping the pool open, future expenses and looming large-scale projects are a concern for Councilman Dan Evans.

“I’d just like to go on the record as saying we need to look at increasing patron fees,” Evans said.

“I’m very grateful to the Morgan Foundation, but the pool is aging. We need a feasibility study to plan for the future, and even with a state grant, the borough will need to come up with matching funds. That’s $18,000 alone for the study. If we have to make major improvements or repairs, where will we get that money?”

Council President Dave Mace agreed, suggesting the borough’s recreation and youth committee members are well aware of the issue and already looking into alternate funding and possible rate increases.

Opening day for the pool will be May 31, with the last day of operations for 2018 to be Aug. 26.

Adrian Bumbulsky was hired as pool manager at a salary of $15 per hour. Council approved advertising for part-time lifeguards, pool clerks and assistant managers. The borough continues to look for a vendor to operate the concession stand.

Also concerning the pool, Steigerwalt updated council on the tree planting and bath house improvement projects. He will also be in contact with Lansford Borough officials concerning discounted pool passes for that borough’s pool patrons.

Council also approved three handicap parking spaces, one each for 316 Market St., 317 Penn St. and 609 Arlington St. A handicap parking sign was removed from in front of 203 Market St.

Joanne Love of Green Street spoke during the public comment period, asking council members if they had looked into her suggestion concerning a change in garbage fees.

She would like to see trash fees based on usage, a fee schedule she also proposed for sewer fees.

Her concern is that single-family households are paying the same fees as multifamily member households.

Mace told her council understands her concerns and point of view, but changing the system, especially for trash collection, could “easily result in a huge increase in abuse, such as littering. There’s no easy way to monitor such a system. We have no plans to go to a pay-per-bag system.”

As for sewage fees, Mace explained the current set up is for the costs to operate the system to be evenly spread out among users, not charged by usage.

Changing the fee schedule would be something to be determined by the Tamaqua Area Sewer Authority.

A new date for smoke testing in the South Ward has not been set, but Steigerwalt suggested late March or early April to minimize the chance of freezing weather.

Council also discussed projects for the next round of Community Development Block Grant funds. Street resurfacing will be the priority.

Due to the requirements for using CDBG funds, the target area will be in the North Ward, repairing portions of Nescopec, Pitt, Clay, Swatara and West Elm Street.

Steigerwalt said the borough is also looking at using Liquid Fuel Tax money to expand the street resurfacing area beyond those streets.

The state requires CDBG funds to be used in low to moderate income areas, as defined from the 2010 census. In Tamaqua, that area’s boundaries are located in the North Ward.