Tamaqua Borough Council is hoping that much-needed and long-awaited repairs to the Bungalow Pool bath houses will be completed before the start of the 2018 season.

Public works director Rob Jones advised council Tuesday night that bids for the project are slated to go out in March, which will hopefully allow the work to start in April. The borough has tried to secure funding for the project and at one time hoped to rebuild the bath houses, but grants for the project were not obtained.

The borough opted to use CDBG funds from 2013 to pay for repairs to the roofs, install new lighting, and repair cracks in the buildings. Jones advised council that work done in the park area to improve drainage and direct water runoff in the area has helped prevent more damage to the existing buildings.

Council voted to advertise for a vendor for the pool concession stand for the 2018 season.

Council opted to extend the current garbage contract with County Waste for one more year, which is the final extension available under the contract. The current contract is set to expire in June.

Ann Marie Calabrese, director of community development, advised council she has been getting inquiries about the CRIZ program, and is continuing to get the word out about the CRIZ program. Council President David Mace said the sidewalk rehabilitation program has been revamped and council has approved the modifications to the program. He hopes residents will start to take advantage of the low-interest loans that are available to help improve their sidewalks and the town in general.

Mary Linkevich, chairwoman of the recreation and youth committee, alerted council to an open house event that will be held at the Owl Creek Reservoir in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce on May 19, in conjunction with the Tamaqua Area Animal Rescue’s dog walk, to help generate interest in the reservoir.

She noted the borough has been approved for a TreeVitalize grant, which will provide funding for decorative shade trees to be planted at the Bungalow park. “They will help with shade and soil stabilization,” she explained.

The borough will also be applying for a feasibility study for the Bungalow. “In order to apply for DCNR grants, we have to have one,” said Linkevich. “Hopefully, next year we can apply for grants.”

Council also heard from Lenore Rutman regarding a truck that is being left to idle in her neighborhood. Rutman said she has called the police several times because her carbon monoxide detectors are going off. Nothing has been done effectively to this point so she called the Department of Environmental Protection.

She explained that a representative from DEP witnessed the truck running for an extended period of time, however could not contact the owner and was unable to resolve the matter.

Rutman’s brother showed video of the truck running, with an exhaust cloud so thick that Rutman’s house was barely visible. Council will continue to look into the matter.