Tuesday night's Coplay council meeting was bathed in pool issues once again.

In addition to an announcement that Milander's Market and Catering would be taking over the swimming pool concession stand (see related story, page 1), several people sparred over who was responsible for the losses at the pool, which average of $37,257 annually over the past five years.

"I was never complacent about the pool," said former Councilwoman Beverly Miller addressing Councilman Charles Sodl who, several months ago, began questioning the losses at the borough pool. Figures he presented at the May council meeting showed both losses overall and at the concession stand. While on council, Miller was in charge of the pool.

Speaking during the public comment period at the beginning of the meeting, Miller questioned why Sodl's numbers didn't match those she had from the Nov. 3, 2009 council meeting.

Sodl's numbers, obtained form the borough office, list the expenses for the pool for 2009 at $77,267, she said.

However, Miller said, according to her figures from 2009, pool expenses totalled only $72,478, leaving a difference of more than $4,700.

"When you get numbers, you really got to look into those numbers," Miller said.

Noting she didn't win the election in 2009 and was "not allowed" to be involved in running the pool, Miller said, "I did not order the food."

Borough Secretary-Treasurer Sandra Gyecsek confirmed the borough office personnel ordered food for the pool concession stand in 2009.

Miller noted the minutes from the Nov. 3, 2009 meeting indicate she had suggested council review a report from the person who had been pool manager that year.

Sodl asked Miller what point she was trying to make.

Miller said the point was that council did not follow through with recommendations given in 2009.

"You need to look into these things," she said.

"Don't preach to me what I should do," Sodl responded.

"Well you should," Miller said.

"I did," countered Sodl.

Miller then asked why Sodl's numbers differed from hers.

"If it's one number that's different there could be other numbers that are different, she said.

Sodl said he looked not only at 2009 but rather at a five- to seven-year average.

"[Miller] had her chance to fix the pool," he said. "We as a group have looked at it and it's our turn to try to fix it."

Resident Mel Procanyn accused Miller of giving away food from the pool concession stand.

"In previous years she took it upon herself to donate the food to someone else, whatever was left over from the concession stand," he said, adding borough government lacked "transparency" in 2009.

Miller countered that council voted to give leftover beef jerky to a group that sent it to troops overseas.

"It was beef jerky that was left over at the end of the season," she said. "That was the only thing we had. We didn't have 240 hot dogs sitting somewhere in a freezer."

At a meeting in May, Sodl questioned what happened to 240 hot dogs left over at the concession stand at the end of the 2012 pool season.

The missing hot dogs were left in the borough freezer, said Jocelyn Wedge, who was recently hired to serve as pool manager for a third year.

She told The Press after the May council workshop she wondered what happened to the hot dogs.

"I do not know if the concession stand workers are giving food away, and make every attempt to monitor what is happening," said Wedge in a prepared statement issued after the May workshop meeting. "Unfortunately, it is impossible to monitor every transaction."

Wedge said she is not permitted to order the food. That task is handled by the borough office workers.

At Tuesday's meeting, The Press asked if anyone on council or in the borough's employ had been aware the hot dogs had been left in a borough freezer and if anyone knew what happened to them.

Aside from jokes about freezer burn, no one on council responded.

There has to be a better way to handle the concession stand food, said Wedge, adding the pool was losing more than $30,000 annually when she became manager in 2010.

Wedge pointed out her supervisor is the person who chairs the recreation committee.

"Does council acknowledge, understand, or hold responsible the actions and/or non-actions of the councilman who is the elected official in charge of the pool?" she wrote in her prepared statement.

Wedge said she believes Sodl had political motivations for bringing up issues with the pool in May – right before the primary election in which he, Wedge and Miller were among the candidates.

"If I'm doing such a bad job then why bring me back?" she said.

Sodl said twice at public meetings that he was not questioning the performance of any one individual but rather the borough's expectations and longstanding procedures.