(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

The Beaver Falls City Council held their regular meeting on Tuesday evening, but several of the “regulars” were not in attendance.

Mayor Kenya Johns and councilman Leonard Chiappetta were absent from the meeting, making Deputy Mayor Peggy Evans the leader of the March 28 agenda. She joined fellow council members John Kirkland and Vanessa Ford Taylor as the only ones able to vote on any of the resolutions throughout the evening. Also absent from the meeting were city treasurer Sandy Wilkins, fire chief Mark Stowe, and city engineer Tony Sadaka.

Nevertheless, the meeting moved along with no major issues or hang-ups, as each of the eight resolutions on the agenda were approved unanimously by the voting councilmembers. Among them was the approval of a new trial schedule for daylight street sweeping throughout the city, with the sweeping of streets and avenues to take place from 5 AM until 1 PM. General Fund expenditures were approved in the amount of $952,930.70.

Beaver Falls police sergeant Robert Applegarth had his retirement letter read and accepted by city council, with the longtime sergeant’s retirement to become effective on April 17. Applegarth’s pension calculations were also approved, while the pension contributions of former fireman William Cummings will be set for him to obtain as agreed upon by the council. Cummings had retired from the Beaver Falls Fire Department in January of 2022.

Three recommendations from the Safety Committee for road closures during upcoming events were given the green light, including an alumni reunion for Geneva College baseball on April 15 (33rd Street from 7th to 8th Avenue), an “After School Bash” fundraiser for Ruhe Park on 5th Avenue set for June 2, and a dental health expo by Highmark on June 8 (12th Street between 7th and 8th Avenue).

City Manager Charles Jones announced that the council was awarded the Governor’s Excellence Award by Governor Josh Shapiro, an award for exemplary performance by commonwealth officials in the state. Several elected officals will be making the trip to Harrisburg on April 12 to meet with Governor Shapiro. Deputy Mayor Evans closed the meeting by speaking about the new editions to Library Park, citing that the improvements were “easy on my eyes”, and stated that she was “proud of Beaver Falls”.

The next city council meeting is scheduled for April 11 at 7:00 PM.