Lock Haven City Council Approves Use Requests for Local Events and Celebrations; Annual Sentimental Journey Fly-In Set For June 2024
By Emily Wright
LOCK HAVEN – The Lock Haven City Council met for its regular meeting Monday night and discussed a variety of topics ranging from use requests for decorations at Triangle Park to bridge replacements at Zindel Park.
To begin the meeting, the council approved use requests made by Kim Garlick, Executive Coordinator of the Sentimental Journey Fly-in. In addition to the Fly-in event, requests to hold two pancake breakfasts at Hangar 1 of the airport on May 5, 2024, and September 22, 2024, from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. were made. Council voted and approved all three events, and the annual Sentimental Journey Fly-In is set to take place from Tuesday, June 18 through Sunday, June 23, 2024. “We will be featuring the Piper J-2. As always, we will also be celebrating the famous and beloved Piper J-3 Cub,” Garlick highlighted in her use request for the events.
Next on the agenda for the meeting was a request made by Bill Stankiewicz, Richard Wallace, and the Swissdale United Methodist Church to display three crosses at Triangle Park for Easter from March 23 until April 20. They also included a request to fly the Christian flag beneath the American Flag for the month of April at Triangle Park to recognize Faith Month, a nationwide initiative that honors the religious heritage of millions of Americans.
During the meeting, these requests sparked debate around the inclusiveness of different faiths and also around the president and CEO of the advocacy group ‘Concerned Women for America’ (CWA), Penny Nance, who started the Faith Month initiative two years ago. Taxpayers and residents who were present at the meeting alleged that Nance has made public comments expressing negative feelings about same-sex marriage. Questions were also raised about the “Faith Month” Proclamation, which Councilmember Richard Conklin expressed extreme opposition to. During the debate, a member of the Swissdale United Methodist Church asserted that while she didn’t come to the meeting prepared to address the council, she felt it necessary to note that the country was founded on biblical principles and that CWA has not segregated against any particular group of people. Despite several locals expressing contentious views during this portion of the meeting, upon roll-call vote, the requests made by the church were approved with councilmembers Alexander, Brinker, Stevenson, and Mayor Joel Long voting in favor. Councilmembers Conklin and Masorti voted in opposition, and Councilmember Brannan was not present at the meeting to vote. Mayor Joel Long clarified that the approval was only for the Easter installation of three crosses and the Christian flag at Triangle Park, not the “Faith Month” Proclamation.
Another request was made by Brandi Bodle, a coordinator for “Pinwheels in the Park”, to use Triangle Park to recognize Child Abuse Awareness Month in April. Upon a roll-call vote, councilmembers approved the request to hang a banner for the duration of April as well as to decorate the park with pinwheels from April 13 until April 20 for “Pinwheels in the Park”, an initiative that aims to spread awareness about child abuse in Clinton County. On Saturday, April 15, at 2:00 p.m. community members are invited to the park to “plant a pinwheel” in honor of those affected by child abuse in the county and demonstrate support for local victims of child abuse. Representatives from the local and state police, Children and Youth Services, and Roads to Peace will be in attendance to speak on the issue, help raise awareness, and engage in discussions about how to prevent and recognize child abuse. Victims and their families are encouraged to attend the event, share their experiences, and plant a pinwheel as a symbolic gesture.
The Clinton County LGBT organization submitted a use request to the city council for permission to paint Pride Flags on Grove and Vesper Streets where they each meet at East Main Street in downtown Lock Haven during the month of June to recognize “Pride Month”. Before the roll-call vote, Councilmember Brinker emphasized that the flags should be removed from the city-owned streets at the conclusion of June when Pride Month ends rather than leaving them in place indefinitely, as was the case in previous years. “Last September I brought up that the flags were still on the road at that time, and they were still up in December. So, are we doing a pride month or a pride half year?” Brinker questioned. “If we’re going to have it for a month, it should be done at the end of June just like the decorations at Triangle Park for pinwheels or any other thing, it should be done at the end of the month; not whenever the salt takes them off or the weather takes them off,” he said. Councilmember Steve Stevenson offered a solution, suggesting that the city council ask The Department of Public Works to take care of the removal within a reasonable amount of time after “Pride Month” ends. Upon roll call vote, councilmember Brinker voted in opposition to the painting of the Pride Flags while Councilmembers Alexander, Conklin, Masorti, Stevenson, and Mayor Joel Long voted in favor, passing the use request by majority vote.
The “unfinished business” portion of the meeting included the consideration of Resolution No. 2024-05: Adopting the Clinton County Hazard Mitigation Plan. The development and review of the County’s Hazard Mitigation Plan is a requirement of the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA 2000) and it aims to reduce the negative impacts of disasters on members of the community and their property. Additionally, the plan helps identify risks from natural and human-caused hazards. In 2023, Clinton County made updates to its hazard mitigation plan and identified several hazards that present the highest risk to the county, including natural hazards like floods and wildfires, and human-caused hazards like cyber attacks and terrorism. To combat these risks, they set goals and created specific actions to reduce potential injuries, protect critical infrastructure, and promote disaster-resistant development. City Council approved the Hazard Mitigation Plan at the meeting Monday night.
Locals who enjoy walking or hiking at Zindel Park will see the replacement of the two bridges in the park in the near future, as both bridges are set to be replaced with timber bridges. City Manager Greg Wilson explained that in order for construction at Keller Dam to be completed, both bridges will need to be replaced so that they can carry the weight of the equipment to be used for the project at the dam. According to Wilson, last Tuesday the city-hired engineers of Gwin, Dobson, & Foreman (GD&F) were informed that the city council would be addressing authorization to go for a bid for the replacement of the two bridges with timber bridges, which he says will suit the project’s needs and also leave behind a more aesthetically pleasing project than the originally proposed box culvert bridges. GD&F engineers confirmed that the cost of both bridge types is the same, coming in at $650,000.00. Upon roll-call vote, the authorization to solicit bids for bridge replacements at Zindel Park was approved by city council.
A letter was sent to the City of Lock Haven on January 23 from the Department of Environmental Protection regarding the proposed changes to the Boyd R. Keller Dam. The Department agrees with the proposed changes but has some recommendations to address in the final design process. The changes may be approved as long as they do not affect the top of the dam, normal pool elevation, or pool level.
City Council announced that the Clinton County Economic Partnership will be holding a Time Out networking event at The Fallon Hotel Est. 1856 on Thursday, February 29th from 5:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. The Time Out will feature a cash bar, live entertainment, and h’ordourves. To RSVP, visit the Clinton County Economic Partnership Facebook page and click the link in the February 4 post about the event, or visit www.facebook.com/fallonhotel.
The Clinton County Solid Waste Authority will be holding a Residential Tire Collection event on Friday, May 17, 2024, from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., and on Saturday, May 18 from 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. at the Authority’s recycling center in Wayne Township. The tire collection is free to all residents of Clinton County who can provide proof of residency, and up to 12 car and/or light truck tires will be accepted free of charge during the event. This tire collection event is not open to tire dealers, service station operators, repair garages, tire sale outlets, or similar facilities. Charges will apply to “out of county” and “oversized” tires. For more information, call 570-769-6977 or send an email to ccswa@waynetwplandfill.com.
