Jim Thorpe Borough Council retained its leadership during a reorganization meeting Monday night with Greg Strubinger and Mike Yeastedt unanimously re-elected as president and vice president respectively.

“Two years have passed since our last reorganization meeting,” Strubinger said. “We set out on a course at that time, and to say things haven’t gone as planned is an understatement with COVID-19. Hopefully we can pick up now and do a little better in the next two years, specifically as it pertains to our building projects. We felt a responsibility to take care of our facilities and we’re hopeful we can move forward with the renovation of Memorial Hall, rehabilitation of Memorial Park and construction of a new public services garage.”

Work on the hall includes a new HVAC system, would allow the borough to move its administrative offices to a portion of the top floor of that building, while moving its police department to the bottom floor, which used to be a roller skating rink.

Jim Thorpe bid the hall project and a new, 26,000-square-foot public works garage late last year, but bids came back at $3.72 million and $3.27 million respectively, which is around $1.5 million more each than the borough had originally estimated.

“We’re hoping to get some grant money and other money to subsidize the project so we can get them done with minimal impact to our taxpayers,” Strubinger said. “We’d really like to pick these projects up and break ground in the next few years.”

Other appointments

Council made the following appointments during Monday’s meeting:

Planning Commission (four-year terms): Joseph Micko and James Dougher

Jim Thorpe Zoning Hearing Board (five-year term): Curtis Jackson

Vacancy Board (one-year term): William Solomon

Dimmick Memorial Library Board Representative: Robert Schaninger

Carbon County Tax Collection Committee Delegate: Maria Sebelin

Assistant Secretary: Joanne Klitsch

Open Records Officer: Louise McClafferty

Fire Chief: Vince Yaich Sr.

Deputy Fire Chief: William Diehm

Sewage and Well Enforcement Officer: Brior Environmental Services Inc.

Solicitor: James Nanovic

Engineer: Entech Inc.

Zoning and Building Code Official: Bureau Veritas

Stormwater Management Official: Barry Isett and Associates

Borough Manager: Maureen Sterner

Police Chief: Joseph Schatz

Public Service Manager: Vince Yaich Sr.

Borough Secretary: Louise McClafferty

Borough Treasurer: Maria Sebelin

Property Maintenance Code, Nuisance and Health Inspector: Lyle Augustine