It was a full house at the Lansford Borough Office as town residents and neighboring citizens attended Lansford’s regular monthly meeting Wednesday evening.

The first agenda item discussed was the ongoing sewer project which had a bid by Peter J. Radocha & Sons Inc.

Council President Bruce Markovich suggested the matter be tabled and rebid. His suggestion met with resistance from board members and residents.

One attendee, Lenny Kovach, reminded the board that Radocha is the only one who placed a bid on the project. Kovach suggested that it may be because the project is either too small or too complicated for contractors to handle.

Markovich explained that he thought the numbers given weren’t in line with what the engineer estimated, but Kovach said that the numbers given by the engineer are always a rough estimate.

Markovich said the engineer told him that the actual price could come in higher or lower.

Lansford board member William Chuma said he’d like to see the project done as soon as possible.

“It’s already been tabled, so at this point all we can do is table it and rebid it,” Markovich said.

The garbage contract was also motioned to be tabled, and the current bid was not accepted by the board. The board voted to re-advertise the bid.

Markovich said the town is going to hold a work day at the east end of town and invited the Scouts to join them in their efforts. Chuma said they’ll particularly need help laying down mulch.

Williams asked about any suggested preventive actions to take in light of the spread of COVID-19.

Markovich said the best thing to do would be to listen to what officials are saying but said to remember the basics: wash hands. He said that Lansford as a community hasn’t felt the need to address the issue as there are currently no reported cases in town.

Lansford Mayor Michele Bartek said she attended a class recently that taught her more about the disease and prevention measures.

“If you’re older, or working with those who are infected, you should wear a mask,” she said. “The best thing to do is to always wash your hands with both soap and water.”

Other business

• John Turcmanovich, president pro-tempore, spoke about town resident George Krajnak who recently passed away. Turcmanovich said he served in multiple positions within the borough and was a highly respected man in the community. The room took a moment of silence to honor both Krajnak and another resident who passed away John “Squeaky” Porambo. Both men served as Lansford police officers.

• Potential reappointment for the towns Parks & Recreation account was discussed. Former president of Lansford Borough Council Rose Mary Cannon said she would like to stay on the committee if it reopened. Current council members wanted to move forward in taking steps to reopen the account and said they would contact former members of Parks & Recreation to see if anyone would be interested. Money was confirmed to still be in the account for the town’s use.

• When discussing ways to raise money for the nonprofits in Lansford, the PPL Foundation’s grant was brought to the board’s attention. The Bright Lights campaign works to award an impactful individual by contributing $10,000 to their nonprofit. Submissions are due April 30 and award honorees will be announced in September. Resident Jennifer Staines challenged all Lansford residents to go online and vote for a Lansford representative.

• Bartek read the entire police report, which took over four minutes and included details on responding to 292 calls for help in February, including three stabbings, a fraud case and six PFA violations. She said she will continue to read the police report so residents and board members know what the officers are doing every month.