Ellwood City Borough Council

Ellwood City Borough Council Still Seeking Borough Manager Candidates

Ellwood City Borough Council announced the end of the Emergency Declaration enacted on January 26, 2026, by the Mayor of Ellwood City, Anthony Court, during Monday’s regular council meeting. Brad Ovial, president of council, spoke on behalf of Court stating that the emergency declaration has officially ended. Ovial also praised various public works and public safety officials who worked endlessly providing services to the public. He thanked the public works departments who kept the streets cleared as well as the police and firefighters who were all dedicated to providing service to those who needed it during the storm. The Ellwood…


Ellwood City Borough Council to Advertise for New Borough Manager

Ellwood City Borough Council voted during Tuesday evening’s regular meeting to advertise for employment of a new borough manager. The move comes after Council voted 4-3 on January 5, during a reorganizational meeting, to not renew the contract for Kevin Swogger. Councilwoman Jan Williams was joined by Councilmen Caleb Cragle, Brad Ovial, and Joseph Mancini in voting to not renew. Swogger joined the borough as manager in 2023. (Council voted to hire him in November of 2022). Ovial, president of council, said. “The majority of council decided to go in a different direction.” He said they are working to put…


EC Borough Council Passes Budget; Recognizes Young Hero

Ellwood City Borough Council voted to adopt an ordinance to establish the real property tax rate at 11.75 mills for the year 2026 and also voted to pass a resolution adopting a 2026 budget. Councilman James Barry and Councilman James Johnson both voted “No” to the real property tax rate and the resolution to adopt the 2026 budget. Councilman George Celli voted “No” to adopt a 2026 budget. Council had to pass both motions in time for the end of year deadline, however, both votes will likely be revisited once the budget is reopened in 2026 when newly elected Councilman…


Council Establishes Stop Intersection on College Street at First Avenue

Ellwood City Borough Council voted 4-2 to establish a stop intersection on College Street at First Avenue (northbound and southbound). “No” votes came from Councilman George Celli and Councilwoman Jan Williams. Councilman Caleb Cragle was absent from the meeting. Before the vote, Borough Resident Robert Dibuono asked council to vote down the stop intersection. He said forcing traffic to stop there would impact the ability for some vehicles to get a running start to make it up the hill in the winter and might also be difficult for vehicles to stop at the bottom of the hill. Dibuono typically travels…


School Crossing Guard to Borough Council: Speeding Out of Control, Dangerous

A school crossing guard urged the Ellwood City Borough Council to do something about the speeding cars at the intersection of 4th and Crescent Avenues Monday evening at the regular meeting of council prompting immediate action by Mayor Anthony Court. Peri Malcolm, school crossing guard, said the amount of cars speeding in the mornings and afternoons while school children are walking to school is alarming. “They are just flying up and down the streets. Somebody is going to get hurt there.” Malcolm said she takes her post from 7:10 to 8 a.m. and again from 2:10 to 3 p.m. and…


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…


Ellwood City Council Recognizes Borough Employees for Contributions to Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) Initiative

Ellwood City Borough Council President, Brad Ovial, presented commendations to two borough employees for their work on the recent Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) initiative during Council’s recent regular meeting. Ovial handed over certificates of appreciation to Borough Manager Kevin Swogger and Rhiannon Schnell, secretary for public works and code enforcement. Schnell served as the community partner for the initiative and along with Swogger was an integral part of the application and planning process as well as seeing the program through to the end. Swogger said that more than $2.5 million worth of NO COST services were provided to the community….


Ellwood City Borough Council Takes Action on Budget, Announces Community Programs

In addition to handing down discipline for an officer in the Ellwood City Police Department, Ellwood City Borough Council took action on budget items and borough leaders gave updates on projects, community initiatives during Monday’s regular meeting. Mayor Anthony Court congratulated the Riverside Baseball team on its recent championship win. Court said that he along with a couple school board members were planning a parade for the team, but because of a time issue Franklin Township Fire Department wanted the parade to be put on hold. “It wasn’t from the Mayor’s Office. Want to make sure that’s understood because there…


2025 Primary Election Unofficial Results: Ellwood City Borough Council; Ellwood City Area School District’s Board of Directors

Unofficial results from yesterday’s May 20, 2025 primary have been posted. Lawrence County According to Lawrence County’s website, there were 15,258 ballots cast in Lawrence County. Of those, 6,938 were Democratic and 8,320 were Republican. The total voter turnout was 26.69% with 34.77% being Democratic and 27.81% being Republican. Click here for full unofficial results. Five candidates were on the ballot for Ellwood City Council (vote total next to candidate): Republican (Pick 4): Brad Ovial 317 Democrat (Pick 4): Joseph Mancini 478 Michelle Lamenza 411 James Barry 321 Jan Williams 316 Mayor Anthony Court received 512 votes. He ran unopposed. Eight…


Primary Election Series Part 5: Ellwood City Borough Council Candidate Q&A & Mayor’s Office

Note: This is part 5 in a 5-part series about the Primary Election. Part 1 provided general information about the election and where to vote. Parts 2 and 3 featured candidate Q&As for Ellwood City Area School District’s Board of Directors. PART 4  featured candidate Q&As for Ellwood City Council.   The Primary Election will take place on May 20. The candidates running for Borough Council include: Jan Williams, Michelle Lamenza, Jim Barry, Brad Ovial, and Joe Mancini. We caught up with the candidates for Ellwood City Borough Council before the primary election to learn more about the candidates and get…