Tamaqua Borough Council is starting 2022 under new leadership. Councilman Brian Connely was unanimously elected to serve as president, replacing former Councilman David Mace, who had served as president since 2016.

Kathy Kunkel, a longtime community activist and volunteer, earned a spot on council in November’s election, unseating Mace who had been on council since 2010. Councilwoman Mary Linkevich, Councilman Richie Linkhorst, and Kunkel were all elected to four-year terms, and Councilman Jay Hollenbach Jr. was elected to a two-year term.

Councilman Ronald Bowman was chosen to serve as vice president, and Linkevich was chosen as president pro tem.

Council approved the list of elected and appointed borough officials, including Tax Collector Pam McCullion; Vacancy Board Chairman Mark Bower; Borough Solicitor Anthony Odorizzi; Police Chief Michael Hobbs; Borough Manager Kevin A. Steigerwalt; Public Works Director Robert Jones; Secretary-Treasurer Georgia Depos DeWire; Secretary-Treasurer (in training) Tonia Collevechio; Borough Engineer Alfred Benesch; Zoning Officer/Code Official Thomas Nelson; and Health Enforcement Officer James Connely. Connely was also appointed fire chief.

Connely noted that there are three vacancies on the Board of Health; one on the architectural review commission, and another on the zoning hearing board. Any interested applicants should submit a letter of interest to the borough.

In other business

Council approved a handicapped parking space application for 34 E. Elm St.

Council heard from Kevin and Claudia Krell, residents of Owl Creek Road. The Krells requested that lines be painted on Owl Creek Road, which was recently resurfaced.

“It’s very hard to see where you’re going, especially when it’s foggy out. The past couple nights have been very hard to see,” said Krell.

Councilman Ron Bowman, who has worked extensively on the resurfacing project, said that while he agrees with the Krells “100%,” there are a few issues related to the line painting, mainly that the road is not a consistent width, and that the borough is still engaged with the contractor over other issues with the project. The matter will continue to be reviewed.

Council also held an executive session to discuss personnel matters at the request of Chief Hobbs.