GreenTree council rejects current pool construction bids, will rebid; adopts 2026 budget with no tax increase

Council members voted Dec. 1 to reject the current base bid and ad alternates for the GreenTree pool construction project and directed staff and the committee to rebid the work with additional study of refurbishment versus reconstruction options.

Committee members and residents had raised concerns during public comment that bids came in over budget and that the planning commission had not been involved earlier in the project’s scoping. Infrastructure and the committee’s motion stated the rejection is not indefinite but intended to allow the borough to re-advertise and refine the scope.

Council also adopted the 2026 budget (Ordinance 1911) during the same meeting. Members emphasized the budget contains no tax increase for 2026. The council then passed Ordinance 1912 fixing the 2026 real-estate tax rate at 4.61 mills (cited in discussion as $461 per $100,000 assessed value) and Ordinance 1913 setting the borough sanitary sewer user fee surcharge at $7 per 1,000 gallons effective Jan. 1, 2026. Council members explained the average household impact is modest for the borough portion (about $3 per quarter) but noted Alcosan and other regional charges could raise bills further.

Several council roll-call votes were recorded during the meeting: the motion to reject and rebid pool bids passed (roll-call recorded in public minutes); the budget ordinance passed on roll call; the real-estate millage and sewer-surcharge ordinances also passed. Council instructed the infrastructure committee to examine alternate scopes and to bring details back to the January meeting for the incoming council to consider before rebidding.

No tax-rate increase was included in the adopted budget; several members attributed the balanced budget in part to grant awards the borough received.