Among the bills that were approved to pay this month by the Borough of Weissport, one bill was withdrawn from being paid: a bill from PPL Electric Utilities in the amount of $770.56.

According to several borough council members, at least seven streetlights around Weissport are not working, and council has been trying to get PPL to fix the lights for at least a year.

“I reported it about a year ago,” Councilman Bill Hartzell pointed out. “They wanted pole number, I got them pole numbers. We keep trying; we tried again a few weeks ago. This time they didn’t even take pole number. They just said they know about the issue but they have not fixed them.”

In 2021, Weissport was in a similar situation with PPL when the utility did not, as requested, fix lights on the Weissport bridge that were not working. It took several years before the lights were fixed.

Open space

Addressing the borough council at it Monday meeting were Anna Shigo, open space coordinator for the Carbon County Office of Planning and Development and Preservation; Dawn Gorham, director of land preservation at the Wildlands Conservancy; and Dennis DeMara, conservation outreach coordinator at the conservancy.

In 2022, Carbon County voters approved a $10 million bond issue — the Carbon County Water, Farms and Land referendum — to support farmland preservation and natural lands conservation. Grant funding is available for wooded areas, wildlife habitats and water resources.

Shigo plans to schedule a workshop within the next month for local municipalities to show them how to qualify for and use the funding. The Lehighton region would include Lehighton, Mahoning Township, Franklin Township, Parryville and Weissport.

Other business

Council passed a motion to appoint Secretary/Treasurer Cheryl Miller and councilmen Arland Moyer Sr. and Hartzell as signatories on four Pennsylvania Local Government Investment Trust bank accounts.

PLGIT is a financial services organization created and run by local government officials exclusively for Pennsylvania’s municipalities, authorities, schools and other local and regional governmental entities. Funds are used primarily for street and road projects.

Also, a motion was passed to allow Miller to spend up to $250 to purchase a version of QuickBooks to be used on a laptop computer for garbage collection bookwork in the office.

The next Weissport Borough Council meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 2, at the borough hall at 441 Allen St. The change of date is due to Labor Day falling on Monday, Sept. 1.