Mahanoy City borough council declares seat vacant

MAHANOY CITY – Borough Council here took action to vacate a council seat after the man elected to serve stopped attending meetings and several letters were sent to him.

At Tuesday night’s meeting, council voted 4-0 to vacate the seat held by Ben Weissner “for failure to perform the duties for which he was elected.” He was not present at the meeting.

His term runs through 2025.

At February’s council meeting, they approved sending a letter “regarding his failure to fulfill the duties of the Mahanoy City Borough Council for which he was elected.”

John Fatula, borough manager, said at that time that the borough’s home rule charter has provisions for the removal of a councilman in such a case, and council has been lenient to this point.

Council then approved advertising for applications for the vacant seat, which will be accepted at borough hall through March 31.

Anyone interested must be a registered voter residing in the borough.

In other business, council approved:

  • Seeking a grant for the ARDCO building;
  • A rotating towing schedule;
  • The purchase of 301 East Centre Street;
  • The closure of West Mahanoy Street from Main to Locust for a library vendor event on July 3 from 8am to 5pm;
  • Several handicapped parking applications;
  • A moratorium on future handicap parking applications pending review of the borough’s system.

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