New Town Clock arrives at Schuylkill Haven

A new Schuylkill Haven town clock will soon be a reality. The old clock dates back to the early 1990s and broke down in 2018, leaving the borough unsure whether to repair or replace it.

Following a push from residents and borough agencies, a renewed effort was launched in late 2018 to get a new clock or repair the old one. There was a $6,000 donation from the North Ward Social Club and nudge reminders from resident Ruth Tucci, a big supporter of seeing a clock back in town.

In early 2021, the borough learned that replacing the clock would cost about $500 less than trying to fix the old one. The cost of The Verdin Company’s new clock was $12,505.

At its June 2 meeting, council voted to purchase a clock using donated funds from the North Ward, with the borough covering the balance with the intention of pursuing other avenues of donated funds. The borough has agreed to pay an annual maintenance fee of $630 per year to avoid future breakdowns. The clock order was launched at that time with an expected arrival date of about six months.

Just in time, it was reported at the January 19 meeting that the new clock had been delivered and was awaiting installation. The Council agreed to resume discussion in the future on what to do with the old clock. Options range from donating to the historical society to seeing if another community may want it.

In other cases, Councilor Diane Roeder was sworn. Kevin Kline had won the November election for a four-year and two-year seat. He chose the four-year seat. The board received two letters of interest for the seat, one of them from Roeder, a retiring board member. Following a unanimous vote, Roeder was appointed to the two-year seat.

In miscellaneous matters:

• Council approved a check for $850 to Signal Service, Inc. for road maintenance.

• Council approved a request from Girardville for fire police assistance for its annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 26th.

• Schuylkill Haven received a donation from the Port Clinton Historical Commission of its old canal gate for the Schuylkill Haven Historical Museum. In the fall, it was announced that the commission was closing its doors and giving the door to the borough. Secretary Kaitlyn Tinari said the donation is stored with a plan to wait until spring, when the gate’s new resting place will be decided by the council.

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