By Lauren Otis, Staff Writer
Borough Council approved a municipal bond ordinance at its Tuesday evening meeting authorizing the appropriation of $2.4 million for a variety of capital improvements, including a number of measures designed to save resources and energy.
At the meeting, Borough Administrator Robert Bruschi pointed out the “green” investments the municipality would undertake under the bond issue prior to the ordinance’s passage. He noted that the borough administration was attempting to be responsive to past calls by Borough Council to engage in more sustainable and efficient operating practices.
The borough is changing light bulbs and windows at the Suzanne Patterson Center and making energy efficiency improvements at Borough Hall in order to lower energy costs, Mr. Bruschi said. The measures have a six- to eight-year payback period, he said. Mr. Bruschi said the borough did not pursue larger energy changes, such as the installation of solar energy systems, because the payback period was longer. “We are not comfortable recommending some of the big changes because of the payback,” he said.
The borough will purchase two fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles for the engineering department and fire safety office, and another solar operated trash basket (on top of a number it has already installed), Mr. Bruschi said. He said the solar trash receptacles compacted trash and could take up to five times the volume of trash that a normal container could. They had been placed in locations with a high volume of trash, such as near Hoagie Haven and in the public plaza in front of the library, he said.
”Our public works guys weren’t real big on them in the beginning, but they have come around,” Mr. Bruschi said of the solar trash containers.
Additionally, the borough has implemented a policy whereby bids to the borough engineer’s office for garbage collection must incorporate alternate fuel vehicles, Mr. Bruschi said.
The bond ordinance passed unanimously.

