Jim Thorpe Borough Council is looking to fill the Chairman of the Vacancy Board position. Council asked if any resident is interested in volunteering for this position to contact the Borough office.

The duty of the Chairman of the Vacancy Board is to break a tie vote if a council member has left; leaving an even number of council members, and council has a tie vote.The position was previously filled by Curtis Jackson but Jackson resigned from the position when he was appointed to be an Emergency Management Coordinator.In other news, JT Borough had its first public hearing for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG).Jim Martino, of the Carbon County Community Planning and Development Office stated, "Jim Thorpe Borough will be receiving approx. $85,790. $15,442 will be for administration and $70,348 for project implementation for funding year 2013. Funds will be used for selected projects in the borough."The three objectives for the CDBG program include: meeting a particular urgent community development need, address slums or blight, and primarily benefit low to moderate persons. No project will cause displacement of any individuals.Through the program eligible activities include public facilities and improvements, recreation, historic preservation, economic development, etc…The second public hearing will be held in April or May.In other news:During the Mayor's report, Mayor Michael Sofranko discussed the issue of snow removal in JT. There are issues of confusion regarding on which side of the street to park for snow removal and also regarding the times for residents to move their vehicles.Sofranko suggested looking into the snow removal ordinance and updating it.Council decided to suspend the ordinance for the time being. Any signs posted regarding times and places for snow removal will be taken down. If there is a large snow accumulation there will be an all-call for residents to let them know about snow removal.In other news, council approved the following:- Advertising of chemicals for the Water and Sewer Plants- Earth Day Festival on April 20th with a rain date of April 21st.- The replacement of the Digital Video Recorder for the Borough Office and Police Station to Leztek at a price of $1,500.- The sale of the 1985 Chevy pickup truck to Charles DeHaven Sr. for the amount of $2,500.- The resolution establishing the rate of compensation for the Tax Collector commencing in 2014.- Council approved to borrow $25,000 from the sanitation department, with the understanding that the money will be paid back to the sanitation department, to help pay bills at Memorial Park. Joanne Klitsch and Jay Miller voted no. Council President, Betsy Ahner and Joe Krebs were absent.In other news, Klitsch made a motion to approve the terms of settlement with David Peiffer/Amel International Trade (regarding the Castle property on Hill Road).The terms included: Peiffer contacting the SEO to pursue an on-lot system through the planning module process. If approved, it would be presented to council for approval. The planning module would then go to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for approval. Once all the approvals were in place Peiffer would withdraw the complaint filed against the borough.Council Vice President, Gregory Strubinger and Klitsch voted to approve the terms. John McGuire, Kyle Sheckler, and Miller voted no. The motion failed.Pat Handwerk of the Olde Time Christmas Committee presented the borough with a donation of $300 to help defray the cost of police services at the Olde Time Christmas Parade.