Tamaqua Borough Council officially installed its newest member at Tuesday night's regular meeting.

Dan Evans was the sole candidate for the vacancy left by former council member Stephen Tertel, who has since moved out of the area. Evans officially began his term after being sworn in by borough solicitor Michael S. Greek.Borough manager Kevin Steigerwalt reported on the progress of the ongoing Wabash Creek Wildcat Sewer inspection project, saying that letters have been sent to those residents discharging into the basin illegally."Two letters were sent to those who are discharging illegally, and to those who are suspected of discharging illegally," he said, adding that 90 percent of the residents have responded favorably and are cooperating with the borough's efforts to minimize the illegal discharge."We're working with the residents, or their plumbers, daily," he said.Tuesday was the first day of follow-up inspection with dye tests, and Steigerwalt reported that the testing is progressing well. Councilman David Mace asked if the project is causing a shortage of plumbers available for other residential work."We might run into a backlog," Steigerwalt said. "Most of the plumbers doing the work are local or from the area. We don't recommend anyone in particular."Steigerwalt took Mace's suggestion to keep a log of the progress made on the project and said that residents are aware that any work done that might affect the downtown streetscape project would need to be restored.In other matters, council agreed to act on the recommendation of resident Mark G. Conville, an architect who sent a letter to council expressing concern about the condition of the facade on the former Mitchell Galleries building at 205 W. Broad St. Conville requested that a structural inspection be done to examine the condition of the building, which most recently housed a flea market, but has been in a state of decline for several years.Council President Micah Gursky asked for a motion to allow the borough engineer to conduct a structural inspection on that building and the structure at 525 N. Railroad St. Gursky said that if the buildings are found to be structurally deficient, the owners are then responsible for bringing them up to code.The borough will also be accepting requests for proposals for an assistant code enforcement officer as the current officer, Jim Barron, nears retirement."We get a list of code enforcement issues every month, so we had to entertain adding an assistant position," Gursky said.Mace asked if the position would be temporary or long-term."We're hoping to find someone who would want to do this permanently," Gursky said. Council is also considering bringing on a third-party organization who handles code enforcement issues.In his report, Mayor Chris Morrison acknowledged the recent survey compiled by Penn State University's College of Agricultural Sciences and mentioned in the June 6 issue of the Times News. The results of the Tamaqua Community Survey showed an overwhelmingly poor outlook on the borough as a whole. Morrison took a more positive view and said that Tamaqua has a lot to be proud of."This community is doing very well," he said. "We're facing the same issues as every other community, but a lot of communities look up to Tamaqua."Morrison also cautioned residents that the recent hail damage to homes and vehicles are bringing more contractors to the community."This is a prime time for scammers to prey upon people," he warned. "Please be aware. Contractors need to be state certified. If you get a call or someone comes to your door and you are uncomfortable, please notify the police."