With no replacement volunteers, Council opts to bring back colleague
By Kyle Carrozza, Staff Writer, The Times
Jeff Loprinzi, shown at an earlier City Council meeting, was voted back on to council after no one volunteered to replace him after he resigned in February.
COATESVILLE – In a unanimous decision, the City Council voted former member Jeff Loprinzi back into his vacant seat as council member at its meeting on Monday night.
Loprinzi originally left the council at the end of February for personal reasons. However, no potential replacements stepped up to fill the void, and Loprinzi spoke to Council President David C. Collins about returning to the council.
When the issue was brought to a vote, the four members present—Jarrell Brazzle and Ed Simpson were absent — all voted yes to giving the seat back to Loprinzi.
“Jeff needed some time to take care of some personal issues, and now that he has, he’ll be back,” said Collins.
The other big issue of the night was concern over parking on Colina and Community Lanes. Due to construction, parking along these streets now violates fire code and has made some areas unsafe for parking.
In accordance with the wishes of land owners Habitat for Humanity and plans for development previously passed by the council, Interim Fire Chief Jim Lentz would like to be able to prevent people from parking along these streets.
“The situation is unfortunate, and it’s not something I’m looking forward to,” said Lentz.
After voicing concerns about where people who live in the area and their guests will park, council decided to discuss the matter more on Wednesday but agreed that notifying residents in the area should be the first step before any actions are taken.
“We’re not interested in penalizing these residents; we are interested in their safety,” said Lentz.
To help ensure citizens’ safety, City Council approved a new fire vehicle for the department, as well as three new police cars and two public works trucks.
Finance Director John Marcarelli said that the city needs new vehicles, citing the police cars in particular, which need so much maintenance that “they’re basically drains.”
In other news, the council granted the Coatesville Farmers Market Association a special-event permit to operate in Gateway Park this summer and waived permit fees.
The farmers market, which is more of a collection of merchants than a cohesive business, started last June and will look to continue its steady growth this season. Manager Yvonne Post said that the market draws people from surrounding areas to Coatesville, which could bring more income to the city as the market grows.
Sticking to the theme of the best things about the city, the council also discussed the Coatesville Service Award Program. Still in its early planning stages, the program will allow people to nominate fellow citizens for awards in areas like community service, city spirit, and academics.
