Slippery Rock Borough Council kicked things off with a first at their meeting on Feb. 6.
Junior councilperson
Junior high school student Benjamin Uber was sworn in as the council’s first junior councilperson.
According to Uber, his bid for the junior councilperson seat arose from witnessing little involvement of people his own age.
“I just saw a lack of youth involvement in local politics; and so why not just do it myself? Why not step up and be that person to get involved?” Uber said.
Uber says he frequently attended council and committee meetings prior to applying for the open seat.
Moving to the borough nine years ago from Kentucky, Uber loves the Slippery Rock community.
“It is a beautiful place to live, and I want to keep it that way,” Uber said.
As junior councilperson, Uber wants to promote the thoughts and ideas of the young people of the borough.
As for a career in politics, Uber is not so sure.
“I don’t want to make it a job, but I do want to serve my country in some role.”
For now, Uber is focused on serving his community and continuing with his schooling.
Councilperson Alex Tuten took a moment after the swearing-in ceremony to share her excitement for Uber.
“When I ran for office, I said I wanted to be a voice for the children,” Tuten said. “So, this is a very proud day for me. It’s taken a while but I’m so thrilled to have our junior councilman.”
Elm Street
Borough Manager Christian Laskey informed the council of a sinkhole on Elm Street.
Laskey received a photo from a member of the community of a small hole the size of 12 inches by 5 inches.
“There is a 24-inch culvert pipe leading into a very large underground concrete basin directly underneath Elm Street. At this point, the ceiling is going to fail which is putting the road in jeopardy,” Laskey said.
According to Laskey, the discovered underground basin acts like an above-ground retention pond.
It is unknown how old the basin is. However, Laskey theorized it could be anywhere from 60 to 70 years old.
“We’ve performed a temporary fix, and our engineers are looking into a long-term fix to be worked on over the summer,” Laskey said.
Borough festivities
Tentative dates have been set for annual borough festivities.
Fourth of July Independence Day celebrations will take place July 6, 2024.
- Main Street is expected to be closed from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
VillageFest will take place Sept. 28, 2024.
- Main Street is expected to be closed from 6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Oktoberfest will take place October 5, 2024
- Main Street is expected to be closed from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Slippery Rock Mayor Jondavid Longo reminded the council that these dates were listed as tentative currently and that ideas and suggestions from across the council were welcomed.
Borough Council will continue to discuss these dates at their next meeting, which is scheduled to take place on Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. All members of the community are welcome.
