Lansford BoroughCouncil said Wednesday it must make repairs as soon as possible to a collapsed sewer line on Dock Street.

The repair project will be treated as an emergency and will be completed without the bidding process.The council voted 5-2 on declaring it an emergency, with council members Rose Mary Cannon and Mary Soberick opposed. Votingin favor were councilPresident Martin Ditsky, Tommy Vadyak, Joe Butrie, Samantha Yasson and Colin Jones.Meanwhile, the council tabled action on allowing ZooStock, an annual fund-raiser for the American Cancer Society, to be held at the Sports Zoo on Sept. 1.This would be the 16th year for ZooStock and is one of the main fundraisers for the annual telethon of the Cancer Society.Council members said they are hoping the repairs can be completed in time for ZooStock and will have better knowledge of the project status when it meets next month.The collapsed sewer line runs through the property of the Sports Zoo, where ZooStock is held.The council's action came after a letter was read from R. Michael Tirpak, an engineer with Carbon Engineering of Summit Hill, who represents the Coaldale-Lansford-Summit Hill Sewer Authority.The letter said, "The authority is concerned that the continuing collapses of this sewer line will allow large chunks of debris (rocks and pieces of the collapsed terra cotta sewer line) to enter the authority's main line. The borough's sewer line ties into the authority's main sewer line a few feet downstream of the collapse."The collapse happened over a month ago and the council has been determining how to go about making the repairs."I would say that this situation is an emergency," Vadyak said. "If we get more rainstorms, we don't know when the next break will occur and property damage could occur."Butrie agreed, saying, "We should get this done ASAP."The borough's solicitor, attorney Michael Greek, advised that the project could be deemed an emergency if it affects the public health and safety of the community or neighborhood. If there is no risk to the public health and safety, then the project should be placed on bid.Because it was determined to be an emergency, the council agreed to have Michael Radocha of Coaldale do the excavation and install new sewer lines."We don't have the equipment to do it ourselves," Ditsky said. "We found out today our front loader is dead."Butrie said the borough's front loader, a 1978 vehicle, had lost its brakes and has an assortment of other mechanical problems.The council will be exploring the possibility of purchasing a used front end loader.