Tonight’s Jenkintown Council meeting promises to bring some interesting developments to light. Council will hear three presentations and vote to fill two empty council seats.

Filling in the Blanks

According to its agenda, Council will vote to appoint the successors for empty seats in Wards Two and Three vacated by Melissa Young and Rick Bunker respectively. After an 11-1 vote, Council decided to interview interested residents for those seats. The single dissenting vote came from Council President Deborra Sines-Pancoe.

Municipalities are under no legal obligation to open the process to interviews, but in 2016, Jenkintown opted to issue for the first time a call for candidates two open seats in Ward 4.

School District Budget Presentation

The agenda also lists a budget presentation from Dr. Jill Takacs, superintendent of Jenkintown Schools. With the school district currently carrying more than $19 million in debt against $16 million in revenue, residents might want to cross their fingers hoping against another tax hike.

Then again, the district also added $1.2 million to that debt load this year to help pay for, among other things, the new security vestibule. In addition, a recent presentation before the School Board showed the need to address years of deferred maintenance to the school’s heating system.

The Abington School district recently announced no tax hike for its residents thanks to an increase in state funding.

Cedar Street Final Proposal

Also on the agenda, Pennoni Associates will present their final proposal for the Cedar Street park. At a planning meeting earlier this month, no final estimates were offered, so Council should be getting the numbers at this meeting.

So far, including the tax revenue not received by the Borough and the School District, the park has cost the community nearly $300,000.

This month’s council meeting will take place at Borough Hall, 700 Summit Avenue at 7:30 PM.