Dunmore council approves CDBG cooperation for Chestnut Street and formalizes public‑comment rules

DUNMORE — At its April 14 meeting, the Borough Council adopted two resolutions: one to cooperate with Lackawanna County on a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) project on Chestnut Street, and another to formalize guidelines for public comment at council meetings.

Resolution No. 5, moved by Councilmember William O’Malley and seconded by Michael Dempsey, authorizes a cooperation agreement with Lackawanna County to administer CDBG funding for the Chestnut Street stormwater and sidewalk/roadway Reconstruction Project Phase 2, Part 2. Borough Manager Greg Wolff told council the county will hold a meeting on Wednesday to formally pass the project and that construction activity is expected to begin in the next few weeks.

Council also unanimously approved Resolution No. 6 establishing public‑comment guidelines. The rules require speakers to approach the podium and state their name, limit remarks to five minutes per speaker, prohibit transfer of unused time, and set expectations for audiovisual equipment and microphone use (microphones may be used only with presiding officer permission). "The five minutes is a big thing," Wolff said while summarizing the new rules.

Councilmembers suggested posting the new policy in the borough building and on the borough website and social media so residents can review the rules. "Maybe publish it on our website and the Facebook page so people will have a chance to review it," said Michael Dempsey.

Next steps: the Chestnut Street project will proceed through the county process; staff will post and distribute the public‑comment guidelines to inform attendees and potential speakers.