Weissport Borough Council approved a bid of $66,342 from Bruce George Paving & Excavating of Kunkletown for the flood project involving Forge and White streets in the borough.

The project’s goal is to fix the streets that flood during heavy rains because of poor drainage. No date has been set when the work will be done.

Council President Tom Ketchledge had polled council members before the meeting in order to move the process along. All council members had approved the bid. An official letter will be sent from the borough to the Carbon County Planning Commission of the bid acceptance.

Council member Arland Moyer told council that he used the borough’s backhoe to unclog several overflow pipes along the Lehigh Canal. Two pipes near the boatyard and another one or two just up from there. Moyer reported that one of them had a large log wedged inside the pipe.

Other business

Council had approved a measure at a previous meeting to spend up to $4,000 to purchase a leaf vacuum/blower plus accessories. Council purchased a Billy Goat model for $3,408.00 from Whitehall Turf Equipment. The remaining $582 will be used to mount the unit on a trailer that the borough already owns.

• Council voted to rehire former employee Colton Breiner at a rate of $12/hour, with a 90-day probationary period.

• Council member and Constable James Osborne advised council that from now on, no more warnings will be given to violators of borough ordinances. Everyone who is in violation of any ordinance will be receive tickets or citations.

Osborne said that too many people complained about alleged favoritism, that some people got warnings while others did not. Osborne said that borough Police Chief Matthew Williams agreed.

• Ketchledge said that he spoke with state Rep. Doyle Heffley, and asked him about any kind of funding that might be available for the borough.

“We need help here in town,” Ketchledge said. “We are very low on money, and we need a lot of work done here in town, like roads and stuff like that. Heffley had suggested that we try grants. I advised him that we hardly have money to do matching grants. We don’t have the money we need to pave the roads here in town.”

Ketchledge reported that Heffley would see what he could do for the borough.

• In October, garbage fees collected were $1,615.53 (year-to-date $70,229.86), taxes collected were $902.97 (year-to-date: $54,935.99).