EC council

At its voting meeting next week, the Ellwood City Borough Council is poised to approve an application process for a state grant for upgrades to Ewing and Stiefel Park. The grants could total more than $100,000. The Ellwood City Parks and Recreation Committee, chaired by council member David DeCaria, has been working on a parks master plan, and with this grant, the borough will have money to implement some of the ideas. The grant would come from the state Department of Economic and Community Development. Ellwood City qualifies because of its participation in Lawrence County’s recreation plan. The state provides…

The following is a brief summary of the Ellwood City Borough Council meeting held on Feb. 15, 2016. Announcements Picnic shelter reservations will begin on the fourth Monday in February (Feb. 22) for Borough residents and beginning on the fourth Monday in March (Mar. 28) for non-Borough residents. Commendations Loccisano’s Golden Dawn grocery store was presented with a commendation for its 100 year anniversary. Appointments/Resignations A motion was passed appointing Joseph Trocci to the Recreation Board for a term expiring Dec. 31, 2018. The motion passed 6-1 with Vice President David DeCaria dissenting. DeCaria supported the other candidate, Caleb Cragle….

In a 5-2 vote, Ellwood City borough council appointed a full-time patrol officer on Monday, Jan. 19. The officer is also the nephew of recently sworn-in council member George Celli. The new full-time officer, Jonathan Fauzey, has been working part-time since a previous council hired him in August 2013. Monday’s vote had similarities to the vote almost two and a half years ago to hire Fauzey as part-time. In both votes, council members Judi Dici and Marilyn Mancini voted against the motion but were defeated by a majority that included Celli. Dici and Celli have been off council since losing…

The following is a brief summary of the Ellwood City Borough Council Meeting December Brief: Visitors Judi Dici, who will be sworn in on council on Jan. 4, addressed council concerning a proposal by council member Ralph Chiappetta at last week’s agenda meeting. The proposal suggested that officers only answer calls with municipalities that have an agreement with the borough, which she described as “inconceivable that an officer wouldn’t answer a call.” She praised council president Brad Ovial for suggesting that the borough seek other agreements amicably with other municipalities. At the conclusion of the meeting, Chiappetta answered that it…

Council discussed the possibility of seeking reimbursement for police services to other municipalities during Monday’s agenda setting meeting, The discussion began with a measure, proposed by council members Ralph Chiappetta and John Todorich, that would define when Ellwood City police officers are permitted to respond to calls from other municipalities and attempt to get reimbursement from other municipalities for police services. Currently, the Ellwood City Police Department responds to all calls from neighboring municipalities, such as Wayne and Perry Township. The measure, as initially proposed, would restrict responses unless the borough has a contract with the municipality or Ellwood officers…

At Monday’s borough council meeting, council unanimously voted to re-affirm the borough’s position on the Uniform Policy on Body Armor. The policy requires police officers to wear bulletproof vests as part of their uniform and was originally adopted by council in a unanimous vote on Nov. 18, 2013. According to council, two police officers do not always wear their vests, and council intends on enforcing the policy. Council member John Todorich said the policy should be amended to say punishment is up to and including termination. “Taxpayers pay for those vests, and they cost $1000 each,” Todorich said. “They should…

Two motions, spontaneously suggested by outgoing council members at Monday’s council meeting, caused some stir among council. The first motion, a proposal by council member Ralph Chiappetta to appoint two part time patrol offices to full time, ultimately failed 5-2. The second motion, suggested by council member John Todorich, to install gates at the Ewing Park swimming pool parking lot passed 4-3. For Chiappetta and Todorich, Monday was their penultimate meeting. Chiappetta lost in the May primaries and Todorich was defeated in the general election on Nov. 3. Both seconded each others’ motions. During the new business segment of the…

The following is a brief summary of the council meeting on held on Monday, Nov. 16: Announcements There will be a public hearing today at 2 p.m. to discuss storm water management systems. Visitors Three visitors spoke regarding the Inmetco fire on Sunday and Monday, Nov. 8 and 9. Overall, residents wanted to know if the borough has any system in place to the community of an emergency and expressed concerns about the environmental effect. On Nov. 9, the Ellwoodcity.org staff spoke to Fire Chief Rick Myers who stated that the DEP officer on the scene advised nearby residents to…