Present at Wednesday's Nesquehoning Council meeting was bond lawyer Ben Reed of Rhoads & Sinon. Reed presented council with two options for refinancing three existing loans along with securing a draw down line of credit to be utilized for construction projects.

Under the terms of the loan, $823,000 would be borrowed to pay off present loans with Jim Thorpe National Bank and Mauch Chunk Trust and $1,000,000 for line of credit.Council voted to approve to seek the loans with Jim Thorpe National Bank at a fixed rate of 3.5 percent. The $823,000 note will mature in 2028 and the draw down line of credit will mature in 2032. Settlement on the loans is expected by June 1.Fire Chief John McArdle complimented emergency services personnel on a job well done during the April 6 bomb scare that occurred in the borough.With regard to the narrowband radio project, McArdle stated that it was presently with the county purchasing department and from there will move on to the commissioners. He estimates that he will have the new radios by the end of May. He said that the change over for the fire department would occur in September or October, and the reprogramming of the radios would take place in January or February of 2013.McArdle sought the approval of council to seek an AFG grant to purchase an Urban Interface Vehicle which would interact as a forestry unit and a class A engine. He estimated the cost of the vehicle to be around $350,000. If awarded the grant, the cost would be a 95/5 split. Council voted to give the fire department $1,500 to apply for the grant.In other matters, Solicitor Robert Yurchak announced that a judgment was made against MEM and that damages would be set in court on June 25. Municipal Energy Mangers has been under investigation for defrauding several area municipalities for hundreds of thousand of dollars each by not following through on contracts for street lighting.Mayor Tony Walck has asked borough residents to call 911 when they have an emergency. Residents have been calling the police station and leaving messages on the answering service. He noted that there are not always officers present at the station due to being on a call or out on rounds.Walck also noted that the next Crime Watch meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 9 at 7 p.m. at the borough building.Last month termites were discovered at the recreation center. Quotes were received for treating the facility for approximately $3,000. Council stated that there is presently no way to get under the building in order to properly treat the problem. The floor is "spongy" in areas and ultimately needs to be replaced.The next Recreation Committee meeting will be held on June 4 at 7 p.m.The Sanitation Department would like to remind all residents that there is a six-bag limit when placing trash out for pick up. Large item pick up is on the first full week of every month and residents are limited to one bulk item per month.Electronics including computers, TVs, radios, monitors etc., will no longer be permitted to be placed out for trash come the end of the year.Council will hold a budget workshop on May 7 at 6 p.m.