Security and vandalism were among the topics of discussion at the Weissport Borough Council meeting Tuesday night.

Council Vice President Arland Moyer Sr. suggested that cameras need to be installed in the playground, since some of the equipment has been vandalized."They've started breaking the equipment," he said. "One thing is $400 to replace.""You need cameras that are going to pick up someone's face," said council member Brenda Leiby. "It won't do you any good if you can't identify them."The council members agreed that cameras would be a good idea, and they discussed putting them in the borough park, too. But a good system could be expensive. "The big cost is running the wire," Borough Council President Gene Kershner said about the electric lines.Leiby said that since the cameras would be a policing tool, then the cost for the cameras and installation could come out of the police fund.Moyer suggested applying for a grant and asked Bill Donovan, the borough's secretary-treasurer, to look into it since he recently attended a seminar about applying for grants.Donovan said he could look into it, but added, "Applying for grants is very time-consuming and difficult to get."Several council members said cameras need to be purchased soon and council should not wait for a grant. Council member Greg May said he knows of some companies that are trustworthy and could do the work. Moyer asked him if he could talk to them, and May agreed to contact them.Weissport resident Bob Tileyaddressed the council, saying he and five other residents were interested in creating a community watch program. They would walk around in groups of at least two people to make sure no one was vandalizing.Tax collector Lynette Moyer said their group would need to go through the Pennsylvania State Police before they could begin patrolling. Tiley said they have contacted them.Leiby added that they shouldn't approach anybody they see doing something, but instead should call the police.Tiley agreed and said, "We don't want the vandalism. We don't want the drugs. If we find anything, the first thing we do is call the state police."Council member Linda Schoenberger said that would be good and asked him to provide a list of the names and phone numbers of the people who would participate in the community watch program.Lynette Moyer said that the borough has tried a community watch program a couple times in the past, but it didn't work.Tiley said he has seen needles in public areas and the drug problem is coming into the borough. Leiby agreed, saying that she too has seen needles around town.In other businessArland Moyer said the high cost of flood insurance is hurting real estate in the borough."The flood insurance is so high that no one wants to buy a property and move into town," he said."They (Federal Emergency Management Agency) base everything on a 100-year flood - the mother of all floods," Kershner said.If the borough could get the rates reduced, then maybe they could get more business to move into the town, Moyer said. He thinks that if the flood levee could get certified, then FEMA would take the borough off the high-risk list. The council decided to pursue certification of the levee, which would need to be done through a registered professional engineer.The council also discussed requiring anyone cutting into the roads to do work needing to get a $25 permit for each hole they would cut. This would include the gas, water and electric companies, as well as residents.