Tamaqua Borough Council moved to include a ballot referendum on whether or not the borough can consider borrowing up to $2.5 million for upgrades or possibly a replacement to the Howard D. Buehler Memorial Pool, also known as The Bungalow.

Mary Linkevich, the chairman of the recreation and youth committee, said that the borough doesn’t have a final number in place yet, but based on the results of the pool feasibility study that was done, that number should cover any of the potential projects.

Borough President David Mace echoed that, stating “this is not a definite expenditure” and Councilman Brian Connely added that “this will help us make the decision when the time comes.”

Voters will have their chance to weigh in on the matter on Nov. 3.

The borough has extended the declaration of disaster related to the COVID-19 outbreak for another 30 days.

Borough manager Kevin Steigerwalt recommended that the borough apply for a blight remediation program grant through the CFA, that could net the borough up to $250,000, with only a 10% match required.

Steigerwalt informed council that he had looked into purchasing a drone for the borough’s use, particularly the code enforcement department. He said that one could be purchased for about $1,000. The borough will be setting up some demonstrations in the future and continuing to investigate the idea.

The borough approved $3,000 worth of renovations to the municipal building entrance. The work will be done by High Mountain Hardware.

Linkevich added that she had asked the community to consider donating money to cover the cost of playground mulch at the Dutch Hill playground and had been overwhelmed by the response. Funds have been received to cover the cost of the mulch.