Lansford Borough Council lacked a quorum Wednesday night, potentially costing both the borough and American Fire Company of Lansford needed grants for repairs and purchases.

Three council members — Bruce Markovich, Gwyneth Collevechio and Michele Bartek — failed to show for either the regular monthly meeting or the planned executive session before the meeting.

Council President Joseph Genits and Councilmen Joseph Butrie and John Zym did show up, and Butrie left prior to roll call being taken when there was no quorum.

Council has been down one member since Jack Soberick resigned in September and council failed to appoint a new member on its own within the 30-day window under Borough Code.

The appointment now goes before Carbon County President Judge Roger Nanovic, who will take up the vacancy today.

Council had several time-sensitive items on its agenda, in addition to a police chief contract, the AutoZone development, borough bills, a grant-funded park repair and a public safety grant for the fire company.

Council also planned to meet in executive session with Construction Clearance representatives regarding the 120-day eviction notice from the borough-owned Silberline property, Genits told the Times News afterward.

Council was also to interview a new borough solicitor in the closed-door session, he said. The borough has been without legal representation since Bob Yurchak resigned effective Oct. 14.

Public safety

Council’s failure to meet and conduct business may have cost the borough fire company a $105,485 grant for digital radios.

Lansford Fire Chief Joseph Greco said in a social media post that the found it “extremely disappointing” that council was unable to conduct business and approve a grant for the fire company.

“Public safety should never become collateral damage in political disagreements, personal conflicts, or disputes between municipal departments,” he wrote.

“Our firefighters should not lose opportunities, funding, or resources because of disagreements that have absolutely nothing to do with our mission,” he said. “We are volunteers. We give our time, sacrifice time with our families, respond in all kinds of weather, and put ourselves in harm’s way to protect this community.

“We do not ask for special treatment. We ask for the support and cooperation necessary to do our jobs.”

Council members were elected to conduct business and represent the interests of the entire community, he noted.

“That responsibility does not disappear when disagreements arise,” Greco said.

Deputy Fire Chief Zach Gilbert said that the fire company used its own funds to purchase 13 radios and sought the funding for an additional 10 digital radios, which have “drastically improved our communications,” benefiting the entire community.

Gilbert said he spent 12 hours preparing the grant, getting quotes for the radios and letters of support from state elected officials. He even drafted a resolution for council to approve.

“The only thing that they would have had to do was say yes,” Gilbert said. “Two minutes of their life to support the fire company.”

He expressed his disappointment in council and for the potential loss of the grant, which must be filed by Nov. 30.

Park

The borough may also be in jeopardy of losing grant funding from the Pocono Mountain Visitors Bureau, which provided $8,000 for repairs to the concession stand in Ashton Park.

Council was set to act on contracts for the repairs, which need to be done by the end of the year to maintain the funding.

Special

Genits hopes to schedule a special meeting to act on these matters and others, noting that borough bills have not been paid either with council failing to have a quorum.

Genits believes those council absences were intentional to avoid voting on a police chief’s contract and pension for office staff.

“It’s becoming more difficult to keep the borough operations in tack, especially if these elected officials lack the responsibility to ensure that bills must be paid,” he said Thursday morning.