At its regular meeting June 9, Coplay Borough Council reaffirmed its vote to proceed with borrowing $3.9 million. The loan amount covers repaying a short-term borrowing of $1.9 million and providing $2 million for building a new public works garage.

According to council President Louis Bodish, there is some potential for savings with options presented in the original construction plan. Councilman Charles Sodl questioned if the project could get under the target number, since the project bids exceeded $2 million by nearly $300,000.

“Even if we rebid the project, we need to anticipate the bid will not come in significantly lower. Where are they going to cut $300,000? And there is a possibility it could come in higher,” he said. “We need to look at our options if we don’t meet the $2 million.”

After an extended discussion, council decided to go forward with a rebid on the project.

Although council would like to see a quick turnaround, it seems likely no decision is going to be made on the public works building until August.

In response to a question from resident Anne Killeen, Sodl indicated the borough is not limited to the $3.9 million loan.

“We have more borrowing power if we need it for emergencies, but we do not want to use it. We feel comfortable we can get a handle on the proposed loan without adding a heavy burden to our residents,” he said.

Killeen questioned the availability of funds for MS4 projects on the project schedule. The MS4 projects have a completion deadline within three years.

Council reaffirmed its decision to keep the pool closed. The local public works department would need four to five weeks to prep the pool for summer use and there is no guarantee lifeguards would still be available if the pool would open.

In a related decision, council discussed opening parks and sports fields and decided it would follow guidelines issued by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf. By following the governor’s guidelines, parks will be closed during June.

Council has a special meeting scheduled for June 22. Councilman Mark Molitoris suggested adding the idea of opening the parks in July to that agenda discussion.

According to the records, residents are canceling events in the parks. Council will decide at the June 22 meeting if it will take any action.