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Connellsville council approves hires, reappointments, street permits and procurement participation
Summary
The Connellsville City Council approved a series of personnel, event and procurement actions at its Jan. 28 meeting, including hiring a new city clerk and joining the Commonwealth’s statewide salt contract program.
The Connellsville City Council approved a series of personnel actions, reappointments and permits during its Jan. 28 meeting, including hiring a new city clerk, approving participation in a state salt contract program and authorizing street closures for seasonal events.
Key council actions included hiring Rita Smith as city clerk with a start date of Feb. 3, 2025; the council voted to approve an amendment to the city clerk employment agreement that raised the retirement sick-leave buyback to 70% and set a payment equal to 50% of the city-paid health insurance premium for employees who waive city insurance. Council members voted on that amendment during the meeting.
The council granted the Greater Chamber of Commerce permission to use the East Side Fire Hall for the 2025 farmers market on specified dates and approved closure of North Arch Street between Apple Street and P Street during those events, pending review and approval by the police chief, fire chief and public works foreman.
The council also approved temporary traffic changes and permissions for events: Meadow Lane will be closed each Sunday for the Lions Square Summer Concert Series in June–August 2025; the Yawk River rally was permitted to convert Sixth and Seventh streets to one-way traffic for the river rally June 13–15 pending departmental approvals; and the council authorized the closure of a Carnegie Street block for a proposed night market pending a future formal request.
In procurement and maintenance items, the council approved submitting a cost-sharing participation agreement to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s cooperative purchasing program (COSTARS) to enable participation in the statewide sodium-chloride contract for the August 2025–July 2026 season. The council also authorized the city clerk to receive quotes for a new Ford F-550 dump truck, with funding to come from the liquid fuels account and a recycling grant.
The council approved a municipal traffic signal maintenance agreement with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for the signals at SR 711 (Crawford Avenue) and Arch Street/Arch Street intersection and discussed PennDOT’s anticipated work window for new traffic signals.
The meeting included multiple board and commission reappointments: Michael Parlax Sr. to the police service/pension board (term to Jan. 2029), Leanne Lincoln to the redevelopment authority, Thomas Severn to the Housing Authority, Pat Duncan to the Municipal Authority, John Lipson to the Zoning Hearing Board, Harold Pritz to the Shade Tree Commission, James Flynn to the Connellsville Recreation Board, James Lembo to the traffic committee and Dave McIntyre to the Board of Health (terms described in the meeting as expiring in 2030 or 2029 as noted). All reappointments were approved by recorded votes.
Council introduced Bill No. 1 of 2025, an ordinance to place a stop sign at the intersection of North Penn Street and Peter Street; that was introduced for first reading.
Most motions were passed by unanimous roll-call votes recorded during the meeting.
Votes at a glance (selected items): - Hire Rita Smith as city clerk, start 02/03/2025 — approved (roll call: Councilman Addis: yes; Councilman Keating: yes; Councilwoman Tiberia: yes; Mayor Lincoln: yes). - Amend city clerk employment agreement (retirement sick-leave buyback to 70%; 50% payment of city health-insurance premium for waivers) — approved (roll-call as above). - Grant Chamber use of East Side Fire Hall and close North Arch Street on market dates — approved (roll-call as above). - Meadow Lane closure for Lions Square concerts (Sundays in June–August 2025, 6:30–9:30 p.m.) — approved (roll-call as above). - Municipal traffic signal maintenance agreement with PennDOT for SR 711/Crawford & Arch Street — approved (roll-call as above). - Approve participation in COSTARS statewide sodium chloride contract (Aug 2025–Jul 2026) — approved (roll-call as above). - Authorize quotes for a Ford F-550 dump truck (funding: liquid fuels account and recycling grant) — approved (roll-call as above). - Introduce Bill No. 1 (2025) to place a stop sign at North Penn & Peter — introduced (first reading). - Yawk River rally temporary traffic change (Sixth & Seventh Street one-way, June 13–15) — approved pending departmental review (roll-call as above). - Multiple board reappointments to terms expiring in 2029–2030 — all approved by roll call.
Where a specific roll-call list was recorded the article reports the names given on the record; where the transcript does not list a complete tally, the outcome is reported as recorded by the city clerk during the meeting.
The meeting also included routine departmental reports from the police, fire and public works departments; the police chief reported December statistics and said the department had received two completed applications so far for currently open positions. The fire chief and public works foreman briefed council on winter operations and an update on properties affected by fires under Act 98 (insurance recovery), and answered questions about timelines and use of escrow and insurance proceeds for demolition or repair.
