Dublin votes down telecomuting option for council members

Journal Register News Service

It looks like Dublin Borough Council members won’t be telecommuting to upcoming council meetings.

In a unanimous decision at the Jan. 14 meeting, council members decided not to take action on the new state code stating council members could vote in meetings via video conferencing.

“If you’re not here, there’s not a quorum and you shouldn’t count as being here,” said Dublin Borough Council President Nick Roscia.

Council member Robert Pavlek agreed.

“I think it would cause participation to drop off,” he said.

At the first meeting of the year, Borough Manager William Wert addressed the positive strides Dub- lin is taking in 2013, noting the borough has almost met its budgeted revenue for the real estate transfer tax. Wert explained that a property on Elephant Road sold for $3.9 million, and the Dublin Diner changed owners, all contributing to the real estate transfer tax.

In other news, bids for Phase I of the Supplee Park renovations are due Feb. 4. According to borough Engineer Thomas warko, construc- tion should begin in March and should be completed in June.

The borough will apply for a state grant for Phase II of the project. According to Wert, the application is due in April, and will be awarded in November or December of this year. If awarded the grant, the borough and the state will split the cost, maxing out at $250,000.

Even though the holidays are over, council members didn’t waste time discussing how to decorate Dublin’s Main Street for this year’s Christmas. After complaints of subpar decorations, in a 3-2 vote, council members decided to look into getting new decorations for next holiday season, not to exceed $7,000.

“Either we do it right, or we don’t do it at all,” Roscia said.

The next council meeting will be Jan. 28.