When: East Petersburg Borough Council committee meeting, July 23. Council members Brendan Garrett and Evan Hunter were absent.
What happened: Violet De Stefano, emergency management coordinator, proposed guidance to council for volunteers and staff working beer garden events in the borough.
Background: Last year, a customer in the restricted beer garden area passed alcohol to someone outside the space. There was not a “consensus of what was supposed to happen when people broke the rules,” De Stefano said. To ensure that will not happen again this year, she created specific guidelines about how such matters should be addressed and suggested they be posted throughout the venue.
Quotables: “There needs to be a chain of command for this year” at the event, added Adam Gochnauer, pro-tempore. “We want to keep it a safe event for everyone,” De Stefano said.
Park vandalism: Borough Manager Karen St. Clair said she has noticed a disturbing uptick in vandalism and graffiti in the park. Benches and picnic tables have been defaced and fireworks have been set off in trash cans. She is purchasing more cameras to cover more area of the park to provide evidence to law enforcement about the criminal behavior.
Library funding: St. Clair said she had tentatively budgeted $3,500 for the library in 2027, which is the same amount as 2026. John Herr, council vice president, said he’d like to see the borough increase the donation to $1 per capita, raising the total to $4,573. Gochnauer disagreed, saying a per capita donation is not appropriate because only 29% of residents use the library.
Quotables: “You can’t look at it by usage,” said David Tirado, council member, noting the borough pays for other things like emergency services per capita, not usage. The library is a “much better investment than the drug task force,” added Herr.
Next step: St. Clair said council will table the issue until after the library board gives its presentation at a meeting in the fall.
Upcoming meetings: Council will hold its next meeting at 7 p.m. Aug. 5 and next committee meeting at 6 p.m. Aug. 27.
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