Borough council attended to regular business May 6, but was primarily concerned with establishing a new sanitation contract.

To that end, as they did last time, local sanitation companies vying for the right to haul Freemansburg's trash send representatives to argue against their opponents.

Of the four companies who made bids, only J.P. Mascaro & Sons and Advance Disposal sent advocates, and the Mascaro lawyer explained at length to the assembled council why the other bids should be rejected. He said Mascaro has worked with the borough for almost a decade and the other companies were unable to place bids without defects and calculation errors.

The Advance advocate spoke for only a moment and said his company looked forward to working with the borough.

Council member Mark Lorrah said Mascaro had done excellent work for the borough until six months ago, and the representatives and handful of residents in attendance were left to wonder if the rest of the council felt the same as they talked behind closed doors for more than an hour.

When they returned, council President Homer "Bud" Lorrah said, "We deliberated for quite a while. It's not an easy decision." A motion made by Jim Smith to accept Mascaro's bid failed 4-1, while Rudy Gallich's motion to accept Advance's passed by a similar number.

The two short-term contracts, spanning 18 and 12 months, are worth a total of about $410,000.

The next meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. June 3 at Borough Hall, 600 Monroe St.