The garbage gamble Tamaqua Council took last month by rejecting all bids for the annual disposal contract paid off for residents.

Council again received four bids, from the same four entities that submitted them originally.Advanced Disposal of Northampton and J.P. Mascaro & Sons of Nanticoke did not change their initial bids for the one-year contract that was eventually awarded. Tamaqua Transfer & Recycling of Tamaqua brought their one-year price down to $455,370 from their original bid of $556,420. County Waste of Tremont brought their original bid of $483,516 down to $408,276."The rebid netted the borough over $75,000 in savings," said Council President David Mace after the bids were awarded to the Tremont-based company.In other business, council approved several certificates of appropriateness as recommended by the Historical Architectural Review Commission, including the replacement of a porch at 244 W. Rowe St., changes to a porch and garage roof at 33 Pine St., and the demolition of a deck and pool at 504-506 Arlington St. HARC also approved changes to lighting and signage for an ice cream shop to be located at the Tamaqua Train Station called "The Station Creamery." Council accepted the resignation of Daniel Schroeder from HARC due to personal reasons.Council approved a motion to reimburse all summer staff members at the Bungalow pool for the background checks that are required by the Child Protective Services Law. They also donated three individual season pool passes to the Tamaqua Public Library to use as prizes for the summer reading program.Mayor Christian Morrison reminded the public that the quality of life ordinances are in effect and items such as tall grass and garbage cans that have been left out too long will become a more apparent issue in the summer months.Mace said issues with code enforcement have been identified, are being resolved and he expects improvements in the borough's code enforcement practices.Resident Jamie Folweiler posed several questions to the police chief and the borough about a recent vandalism spree that left over 50 cars damaged. Police have apprehended the people responsible and Folweiler asked what could be done to make sure that the charges are as high as possible.Chief Rick Weaver said it will depend on how the code is written, but added the police are trying to make it as high a charge as possible. Folweiler also asked what needed to be done to get restitution for the victims. Weaver said all victims must file a report, even if the exact damages are not available yet. They can be added when estimates are completed.Council asked that all victims file reports and do so as quickly as possible. Weaver said as long as reports are filed, all victims will be notified, but he said the process could take awhile.Council recognized Micah Gursky for his recent award as Outstanding Council Member of the Year by the Pennsylvania Association of Boroughs.An executive session was held for personnel matters, however, no actions came out of the session.