Brookville Council plans to get a head start on plans for the 2020 census.
Last night, Councilwoman Karen Allgeier was appointed to head an ad hoc committee charged with assisting residents in completing the census and making sure everyone is counted. Having an accurate population count is critical to the borough’s funding. In the 2010 census, Brookville’s population fell only 76 residents short of the 4,000 needed to continue its status as an entitlement community. Since then, the borough has lost about $100,000 a year in Community Development Block Grant funding.
The borough was also hit with the unexpected expense of close to $129,000 needed to replace the boilers in the borough complex that were found leaking water. The boilers are 43 years old and out of warranty. Council approved advertising for bids on the project estimated at nearly $118,000. But the work also involves contracting for the removal of asbestos and asbestos abatement monitoring for an additional cost of nearly $11,000. Council was unsure where the money would need to come from in its budget.
Council approved advertising for bids to do the borough’s annual street paving. Areas targeted this year include Water Plant and Allenbaugh roads, and River, Bortz, Louis and Thrush alleys. The borough received only two applications in its recruitment of lifeguards for swimming this summer at the Walter Dick Park.
Due to the lack of applicants, council opted to start out the season allowing swimming on weekends only. If that isn’t successful, council said it may have no recourse but to eliminate swimming entirely.
