At the May 2 Bath Borough Council meeting, Council Vice President Frank Hesch reported Bath Homecoming Week 2022, set for Aug. 14-20, is taking shape. He noted plans for the softball tournament is also underway.

The action-packed week ends with a return of the popular streets festival - Spuds and Suds - Aug. 20. Spuds and Suds honors the region’s potato farmers and processing industry in and around Bath. There is music, food, refreshments and fellowship throughout the street festival, which runs for about eight hours on Chestnut and Northampton streets. Parts of both streets are closed off during the festival.

In her report, Mayor Fiorella Reginelli-Mirabito said the names and identification of young people who recently vandalized Keystone Park have been determined. The vandals will be providing restitution for the damage they inflicted on the park, and the vandals will be doing community service as a result of their behavior.

Council President Michele Ehrgott, in her personnel, finance and administration committee report, said the committee is addressing a roof leak at Bath Borough Hall.

In her environmental steering committee report, Councilwoman Phyllis Andrews noted the sanitation contract process for trash hauling and recyclables hauling has been assembled. The borough plans to advertise for haulers interested in serving Bath.

The ad was set to run May 11-18. Andrews said a pre-bid conference will be held, which was set to take place May 25. Bids are planned to be opened June 8, with the contract awarded June 15.

These contracts can be very competitive. Several years ago, the successful garbage hauler won the Bath bid with a scant pennies-per-household bid under the second-place hauler.

The second hauler arrived late to the council meeting where the contract was awarded, only to learn he was about an hour late and a few pennies per household short.

During the courtesy of the floor portion, borough residents present assisted Ehrgott in running a short, 23-minute meeting. No residents stepped forward to ask or relay issues to council during the courtesy of the floor.

At past meetings, courtesy of the floor times have lasted nearly an hour as council tried to hash out a solution to the resident’s issue.

Ehrgott explained to those present that, moving forward, council may not provide an immediate answer as council may need time to seek additional information or get a clarification if necessary to provide the best answer to the resident’s question or issue.

The courtesy of the floor is defined by Bath council as “limited to three to five minutes per speaker. Speaker/speaking by proxy is prohibited. Recording devices must be kept on the person performing the recording.”

For any questions about courtesy of the floor, call the borough office.

In other news, council approved Resolution 2022-010, which is a resolution of Bath Borough Council to temporarily suspend the borough’s ordinance Chapter 219 - alcoholic beverages, public consumption and public possession of alcoholic beverages in specific areas at specific days and times.

Resolution 2022-011 was approved to add a second parking code enforcement officer.

Council is also moving forward on a proposed ordinance, 2022-722, that amends the zoning ordinance relative to adult movie/picture theaters and cabarets permitted as a special exception use in the CH-1 commercial highway with residential district, changing to a special exception use in the MC manufacturing commercial zoning district.

Copies of resolutions and ordinances are available by calling the borough office or visiting bathborough.org.

In another matter, council and the Bath Museum are working on a lease for the museum, which has a space in borough hall for its historical artifacts.

After the meeting, council retired to an executive session with the borough solicitor.

The next council meeting is set for 6 p.m. June 6 at Bath Borough Hall, 121 S. Walnut St. It is a hybrid meeting, with both in-person and virtual options. Visit bathborough.org for the call-in numbers and codes to view virtually.