Summit Hill Council members discussed vandalism at Ginder Field Tuesday night.

“They put all that money into the new park and pavilion,” Borough Secretary Kara Steber explained, “and every time the borough workers go up there, they find garbage thrown around, graffiti and inappropriate things drawn on the walls. The brand-new garage door, they broke the handle off. They were trying to get into the bathrooms and broke things there, and smashed lights.”

Council passed a measure to purchase additional cameras for the field at a cost of up to $1,000 due to continuous vandalism taking place at the park.

The cameras will be monitored by the police department.

Police calls

The police department responded to 456 calls from April 5 to May 9, according to Chief of Police Todd Woodward.

That number includes one adult criminal arrest, four juvenile criminal arrests made, 23 traffic citations, 29 traffic warnings, 22 non-traffic citations, 24 parking tickets, and 19 quality of life issues.

One incident of note: One adult male was arrested on two counts of aggravated assault on a law-enforcement officer, and one count each of resisting arrest, simple assault, false imprisonment, theft and criminal mischief for an incident which started on East McMurtrie Street and ended up at the police station.

In a second incident, two juveniles were arrested for conspiracy to commit burglary, theft of a vehicle and criminal trespass as a result of an incident which occurred at Market and Ridge streets.

During its monthly meeting Tuesday night, the council also passed two motions. The first was to approve a three-day online training course for Officer Strauss entitled Zoning Officer 101, at a cost of $62.50. This course will be held in July.

The second motion was to approve an additional three-day online training course entitled “Establishing Rental Property Inspection Programs,” and will be held in August at a cost of $75.

Business parking

In other business, the council tabled a motion to make changes to an ordinance dealing with Special Purpose Parking for businesses.

“Basically, we are looking for a resolution that the parking fees for the businesses include the cost of materials plus labor, and that we have a yearly renewal fee,” Councilwoman Marlene Basiago explained. “In the past, the borough has paid the majority of the cost of those signs. I don’t think that’s fair. I feel the businesses should pay those costs.”

Several issues remained unclear, so the council voted to table the measure and refer the matter to the committee to finalize details.

The borough reported a total amount of $241,004.06 in receipts for the month of April, 2024, and reported a total amount of $199,114.41 in expenses.

Parking changes for the 11th Annual Hootenanny to be held June 30 in Ludlow Park were made. During the event, there will be no parking on North Market Street from West Ludlow Street to the park, and no parking along the West Ludlow side of the park between North Walnut Street to North Market Street.

Council members discussed a number of changes and updates to the Qualify of Life Ordinance. Because it was felt some of the items are ambiguous and need clarification, the council members decided to finalize the changes and bring them to another meeting.