The importance of having a working carbon monoxide detector was discussed at Wednesday's meeting of Tamaqua Borough Council.

Councilman Brian Connely, who is also an active volunteer firefighter with the American Hose Company, updated council on two CO incidents that took place in the borough earlier in the day (details are in the Nov. 8 TIMES NEWS edition)."We had two incidents on Broad Street today. Either could have had tragic consequences as only one of the buildings actually had a working CO detector. We were lucky today. Some people became sick and had to go the hospital, but everyone is all right. If that detector hadn't gone off, we may have had some fatalities. They were rescued just in time," cautioned Connely. (One of the evacuees, Joy Ann Kachelries, later died of heart related issues that may, or may not, have been aggravated by the stress of the incident.)The councilman stressed that the borough has an ordinance requiring rental properties to be equipped with working carbon monoxide detectors."Any tenant renting an apartment or home should know that if there is not a working detector, they should contact the borough and file a complaint. No one should be without a CO detector."Borough manager Kevin Steigerwalt provided an update on the number of properties still not connected to the sewer system.Early in 2011 a total of 56 properties were identified as having illegal sewage discharges. To date, only eight properties have not connected and two of those will be completed shortly. That will leave only six properties left unconnected to the municipal sewer system. Steigerwalt noted that legal action will begin against those property owners.The remaining properties are 18 Spruce St., owned by Harold and Licia Schock; 20 Spruce St., owned by RECA Limited Partnership; 253 W. Broad St., owned by Randall Burke; 12 S. Lehigh St., owned by Walter Blauvelt and Donald Kirkner; 13 S. Lehigh St., owned by Nancy Cole; and 313 W. Broad St., owned by Donald Hauch.The Lehigh Street properties are not currently discharging waste into the Wabash Creek.Lafayette Street resident Joseph Bickelman asked council to do something about the traffic problem on his street."Is there some way to stop the speeding on Lafayette Street?" queried Bickelman. "I've had my vehicles struck numerous times by hit and run drivers. Sometimes just trying to cross the street is dangerous."Bickelman brought the problem to council's attention about two years ago, he noted, but nothing has changed.Council President Micah Gursky noted it could be out of the area drivers, an idea quickly shot down by Bickelman."No, it's mostly local people, taking a shortcut, trying to avoid the downtown traffic."Tamaqua Police Chief Dave Mattson noted the speed limit on the street is posted as 25

m.p.h. He also noted that sometimes, on narrower streets, it's not so much an issue of actually speeding, but the perception."Sometimes it seems as though cars are going faster than they actually are, just due to the narrowness of the street," offered the chief.He pointed to recent traffic studies done on other narrow borough streets that determined the vast majority of motorists were not speeding, or they were traveling at slightly above the posted limit. Mattson told Bickelman the police department would look into the matter and see what could be done.Councilman Dave Mace suggested council send a congratulatory letter to the Tamaqua Blue Raider Football Team on its undefeated season, wishing them continued success in post season play.In other business, council approved the permanent transfer of employee Randy Clemson to the Still Creek Water Treatment Plant; agreed to review the police department's standard operating procedure manual, approving the SOP chapter by chapter as priorities dictate; agreed to contact the Eastern Schuylkill Planning Commission concerning language changes to zoning ordinances dealing with developments' recreation areas; will look into an ordinance requiring mortgage companies/lending institutions to create escrow accounts and management firms to ensure foreclosed properties are maintained; and went into an executive decision to discuss personnel matters, at the request of Mayor Chris Morrison.The parking and traffic committee will meet at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 11. In a related matter, council discussed the congestion caused this week by the Center Street Bridge Project. Traffic has been narrowed to one lane only this week during working hours as the contractor has milled and applied a base coat to the new bridge surface. The resulting gridlock has caused motorists tempers' to flare. The good news is the project has a Nov. 15, deadline for the permanent bridge to be opened to traffic.Steigerwalt noted the contract has Nov. 15 as the firm date for the permanent bridge to be opened."Any delay will result in a financial penalty for the contractor, so the gridlock won't last much longer."After the permanent bridge is opened to traffic, the next phase of the project will move to the dismantling of the temporary bridge. The entire project is due to be completed by May of 2013.A special meeting of council, concerning the Broad Street Bridge Renovation Project, will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday. Anyone living, working or traveling in the soon to be affected area is welcome to attend. The bridge is located in the 200 block of East Broad Street.