From left at the swearing in of Clarks Summit’s new mayor are Chief Chris Yarns, Mayor Harry Kelly, Council President Germaine Carey, and Kelly’s longtime friend, Barry Moran.
Submitted photo
CLARKS SUMMIT — Council voted to appoint councilman Harry Kelly as mayor during the Clarks Summit Council meeting May 4.
Councilman Bob Sheils said that there were four applicants for mayor, but he felt that Kelly, who has held this position from 2005 to 2013, is very special.
“The fact that he has been mayor for eight years, the fact that he’s been elected by members of the borough three times, and the fact he’s a true gentleman, and just a pleasure to work with,” he said.
Council passed Resolution 2022-05, which confirms Kelly’s filling in the vacancy of mayor until the next scheduled election.
“I will do my best to perform the duties of mayor,” said Kelly.
Kelly was officially sworn in as mayor the next day.
Council is now opening a seat on council and accepting applicants. Interested parties will be interviewed during the next work session on Wednesday, May 25.
In his police report, Clarks Summit police chief Chris Yarns said that he received a grant for a pedestrian crosswalk. He also mentioned that he received a grant to participate in the National Click it or Ticket campaign from May 16 to June 5.
“The Click it or Ticket is going to be 50% daytime and 50% night time,” he said.
Yarns said that the police department in conjunction with the state police will do a saturation patrol on Friday, June 10.
In other business, solicitor Mariclare Hayes mentioned two concerns which were brought up during last month’s work session about the noise ordinance. First, the first police contact should be a warning and the next will be a citation or financial penalty. Secondly, the police officer should have some kind of objective.
“I added in language where it (complaint) would require at least two residents or a resident and an officer, or the officer,” she said.
Sheils asked if the prima facie evidence, in which complaints are taken to district justice based solely on the testimony of neighbors, is a violation of the noise ordinance. Yarns attested that it’s the same neighbors who complain over and over again.
“If there’s two people complaining and they made enough complaints, in a way I understand it, they have a right to have a hearing with their neighbor,” he said.
Hayes said that the city of Scranton has a noise ordinance in place for years until the budget this January didn’t have a decibel reader. She said that the main ordinance has certain decibel limits.
“There were certain sections, which require a decibel reader,” she said. “In those situations, you need the equipment, and you need to arrive on the scene at the time. So, there are pros and cons.”
Hayes said that the reason for the prima facie section was to give objective.
Borough manager Virginia Kehoe mentioned that if there were decibel levels, then each officer has to be trained and certified on the decibel reader. Sheils expressed concerns about prima facie’s potential abuse with the ordinance concerning the police officers and district justice.
“It’s really not their job to make the discretion on that,” he said. “It’s our job to make sure we have the right ordinance that’s fair to all our residents.”
Council voted to move forward with advertising the noise ordinance, which will be voted during the council meeting on Wednesday, June 1.
In other business, Kehoe announced that the police civil service test will take place on Saturday, May 21. She said that there are six applicants for the written test.
In other business, council voted to provide a one-time bonus to all borough employees, who have been employed since February 2020, in the amount of $1,500 for full-time employees and at a prorated portion for part-time employees based on the number of hours that work per week on average.
