CLEARFIELD – Two Clearfield residents went before Clearfield Borough Council during Thursday evening’s committee meeting, and made a bid for the vacant Third Ward council seat.
Dennis Biancuzzo indicated that he had submitted his letter of interest with his concentration being low-income families and working to make the lives of his neighbors better.
Clearfield Borough Deputy Fire Chief Tristen Buck also submitted his letter of interest for the position.
He mentioned that he was a write-in candidate for the Third Ward council seat during the election in November.
Buck said he was a young, aspiring individual who wanted to see Clearfield Borough stay the “beautiful small town that our residents enjoy and enjoy living in.”
Fire Chief Michael Yankevich reported that there were 28 calls for the month of December, and gave the end-of-year stats as well. There were 294 total calls for the year.
Yankevich also stressed the importance of 1,435 training hours that the fire department participated in for 2023, and encouraged residents to be supportive of the fire department.
Clearfield Regional Police Chief Vincent McGinnis reported that there were 560 incidents for the month of December.
The incidents ranged from traffic accidents, DUIs and criminal arrests to traffic stops. McGinnis also said that the Clearfield Regional Police Commission had voted to send officers to training for SWAT, interrogation and crime scene investigation.
In other business, there was a:
- recommendation to permit Hyde Wesleyan Church to use Lower Witmer Park for Family Fun Day on June, 2, 2024, and to close Locust Street from Front to Water streets.
- recommendation to hire Brett Stewart as the borough code enforcement officer. It was noted that the matter would be discussed further during an executive session. A decision could be announced at next week’s voting meeting.
- recommendation made to accept the 2024 contract with Stifler McGraw to serve as the Clearfield Borough engineer.
Resident Tony Yankevich addressed council once again with his concerns about the 2024 budget.
He encouraged council to rescind the 2-mill tax hike and rethink the amount given for the Clearfield Regional Police Department. He said the borough should only be paying 39 percent and Lawrence Township should be paying 61 percent.
Council decided to table the recommendation to amend the 2024 budget until all council chairs are filled.