Ellwood City Borough Council Approves Standing Schedule for Annual Ellwood City Arts, Crafts, Food, & Entertainment Festival

Ellwood City Borough Council voted Monday night to always hold the Ellwood City Arts, Crafts, Food, & Entertainment Festival on the weekend on or surrounding Fourth of July.

Council determined that should the Fourth of July fall on a Monday/Tuesday, the festival should be held the weekend before, and if it falls Wednesday/Thursday, it should be held the weekend after.

Councilwoman Michelle Lamenza made the motion with support from all council members except Jan Williams. Council President Brad Ovial said this would give the festival a set time each year to allow the festival committee to plan.

Not everyone was happy with the decision. Prior to the vote, during the public comment section, Festival Committee Member Alice Gretch implored Council to allow the festival to be held June 23-25, 2026, stating that there is simply too much competition from other events in the region. She said that outside events draw bigger crowds that weekend, which leads to lower profits for the vendors that are featured at the festival, which in turn makes them want to bypass being part of the festival.

“Vendors are already committing to other events,” she said. “There’s just too much competition.”

Perry Malcolm, a festival vendor, said she will likely not return this year. She said she paid $200 to set up as a vendor, and after three days made $100.

Council did vote to approve a request by Reeds Services to use Ewing Park and all facilities for the “Dog Days of Summer” event June 23 – June 25, 2026.

Other motions passed:

• A motion to approve the Minutes of the Regular Meeting held 8/18/25, as submitted.
• A motion to approve the Pre-Paid Voucher List dated 9/12/25, in the amount of $742,184.76, and the List of Vouchers to be Paid dated 9/12/25, in the amount of $280,591.97.
• A motion to approve the Departmental Reports.
• A motion to adopt a Resolution, as submitted, confirming receipt of the 2026 Minimum Municipal Obligation (MMO) by September 30, 2025.
• A motion to authorize the sale of the following vehicles:
  • 2016 Ford Explorer-IFM5K8ARXGGA04775 mileage 107,473 (Police)
  • 2017 Ford Interceptor-I FM5K8AR2HGE00894 mileage 111,071 (Police)
• A motion to approve the request by the “People Concerned for the Unborn Child” to stand on the sidewalks along Lawrence Avenue and Fifth Street holding pro-life signs on October 5, 2025, from 2-3 p.m. (Councilwoman Jan Williams opposed).
• A motion to approve the quote from Saracon Industrial Services in an amount not to exceed $7,566.96 for the removal of sludge from the aeration basins. This amount will be paid from the Sewage Fund.
• A motion to approve the quote from Insight Pipe Contracting in the amount of $83,325.75 for the lining of 8″, IO”, and 12″ of sanitary sewers in the area of West Line Avenue. This amount will be paid from the Sewage Collection Fund.
• A motion to authorize the hiring of Peri McKim-Malcolm as a school crossing guard at the rate of $15.00/hour, contingent upon successful completion of all background checks and clearances.
• A motion to approve the quote from Chalmers Kubeck in the amount of $9600 to repair gears/seals at the wastewater treatment plant. This amount will be paid from the Sewage Fund.
• A motion to approve Change Order #6 in the amount of $11,001.83 from Pollard Land Services relative to the Wampum Avenue Pump Station Project. This is the final reconciliation change order to balance all quantities with actual quantities utilized to reflect the final contract amount. This change order results in an overall credit back to the project funding.

Announcements:

• A planned power outage will occur on Sunday, October 19. Service is expected to be out for at least 2 hours. More details will be released by the borough in upcoming weeks.
• Fall Clean Up – October 4, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., 1210 Factory Avenue, $10/passenger vehicle – must buy a ticket by October 2 at noon. There will also be curbside pickup available for those 65 and over or disabled citizens at a cost of $35.
• October Committee of the Whole meeting moved to Tuesday, October 14 due to Columbus Day Holiday
• Trick or Treat – October 31, 6-8 p.m.
• 2026 Budget Workshops – Oct 1 at 1 p.m., Oct 14 at 6:30 p.m., Oct 20 at 7 p.m., Nov 10 at 6:30 p.m.