Birdsboro OKs $415K Recycling, Opposes New Morgan Overlay

Birdsboro Borough Council awarded its recycling contract to Mountz on Sept. 21, taking a $415,000 bid for 2027 through 2029 that was the lowest of three, and voted to send a letter opposing New Morgan Borough's Data Center Overlay, according to the minutes the borough posted Friday, Oct. 23, along with the Aug. 17 minutes. Both had been missing from the council page when we previewed the Oct. 19 meeting.

Six of seven members attended; Ryan Acevedo was absent (p. 1). Every vote was 6-0 until President Anthony Tucci left near the end, when Vice President Mary Ann Cotter presided and the New Morgan letter passed 5-0 (p. 5).

Recycling: $125,000 below the next bid

Council voted Aug. 17 to advertise for recycling bids (Aug. 17 minutes, p. 2). The Sept. 21 minutes print the three results (p. 2). Mountz bid $132,500 for 2027, $138,500 for 2028 and $144,000 for 2029, a total of $415,000; for the option years, 2030 and 2031, its column says only "CPI Inc," apparently a consumer-price-index increase rather than a fixed price; the minutes do not define it. Hollenbaugh bid $170,000, $180,000 and $190,000, or $540,000, with option years of $200,000 and $210,000 for a five-year total of $950,000. Mascaro bid $195,000, $201,288 and $208,680, which the minutes total at $605,124, with option years of $216,228 and $224,676 for a five-year total the minutes put at $1,046,028; the three yearly figures add to $604,968 by our arithmetic, $156 less than the printed total, and the five-year figure carries the same gap.

On Cotter's motion, seconded by Nancy Kauffman, council awarded the contract to Mountz "for a 3-year term with possible 2-year extension," 6-0 (p. 2). Over the three fixed years, Mountz's bid is $125,000 below Hollenbaugh's, by our arithmetic. The minutes do not say who collects the borough's recycling now, what it costs, or whether the price residents pay will change in 2027.

The New Morgan letter

New Morgan Borough enacted a Data Center Overlay District as Ordinance 2026-04 after a Sept. 14 public hearing, as we reported in our New Morgan recap. A zoning overlay adds rules on top of a property's regular zoning district; the hearing draft, the only text posted, allows data centers by conditional use on one borough-owned parcel and includes water-withdrawal rules that mention the Hay Creek watershed. That 22-square-mile watershed takes in both boroughs and portions of four townships and is "an essential source of drinking water for Birdsboro," according to Berks Nature, which runs the volunteer Hay Creek Watershed Association.

One week after that hearing, Kauffman moved to amend Birdsboro's agenda to add "consideration of sending a letter of support (at the request of the Haycreek Watershed) to oppose the New Morgan Overlay Area." Jared Myers seconded, and the amendment carried 6-0 (Sept. 21 minutes, p. 1). Under council reports, Kauffman "noted Haycreek Watershed's concerns regarding the New Morgan Overlay Area" and asked whether council would approve a letter of opposition; the matter went to executive session (p. 4), a closed meeting that Pennsylvania's Sunshine Act allows for topics such as litigation and personnel. Council recessed at 7:55 p.m. and returned at 8:32 p.m. (p. 5).

After Tucci left, Kauffman "read a statement regarding the New Morgan Overlay Area." The minutes do not reproduce it. Council then voted 5-0, on her motion seconded by Myers, to "approve sending a letter of opposition at the request of the Haycreek Watershed regarding the New Morgan Zoning Overlay" (p. 5). The minutes do not say what the letter argues, and no posted record as of Oct. 24 shows it was written, sent or received.

New Morgan's Oct. 19 agenda says its council is taking a letter from the "Haycreek Water Association and Joanna Furnace," plus letters received at the Sept. 14 hearing, "under advisement for a proposed amendment" to the ordinance (p. 1); that agenda describes a letter recommending amendments, not a letter of opposition, and lists nothing from Birdsboro Borough. Birdsboro's minutes call the group that asked for its letter "Haycreek Watershed." We print both names as the two records give them; neither says whether they are the same organization; the hearing letters New Morgan cites predate Birdsboro's Sept. 21 vote, so Birdsboro's letter cannot be among them. The Reading Eagle reported Oct. 20 that four residents have sued New Morgan under the Sunshine Act over the Sept. 14 meeting. New Morgan is one of more than 20 Berks municipalities writing data-center rules this year, per our data-center tracker.

Pensions, a fire truck and a used police pickup

Council acknowledged receipt of the borough's 2027 minimum municipal obligations, 6-0: $65,164 for the police pension fund, $40,670 for the non-uniform pension fund and $76,560 for the Teamsters pension fund (p. 2). The minimum municipal obligation, or MMO, is the amount state law requires a municipality to put into each employee pension plan next year, calculated by an actuary.

Fire Vice President Chief Rhoads, as the minutes identify him, asked that the Birdsboro-Union Fire Department be allowed to "move forward with the Pierce Pumper" and "noted the potential for LSA grant monies." Council approved the Pierce pumper contract going forward, 6-0 (p. 4), with no price in the minutes. LSA, or Local Share Account, grants are state grants paid from casino gaming revenue; the manager's announcements list two, $55,000 for a public works pickup truck and $77,700 for a fire department brush truck (p. 3).

Police Chief Adam Borz asked to bid on a 2020 Ford F-150 with 43,000 miles, bids due Oct. 6, saying it "would eliminate the need to buy a new vehicle in 2027." Council authorized a bid of up to $30,000, 6-0 (p. 3); whether the borough won the truck is not in the written record. Borz also reported that the District Attorney's office reimbursed the borough for its first-year payment to Axon for cameras (p. 3).

A "Police Department Grievance" went to executive session on Aug. 17 and again on Sept. 21 (Aug. 17 minutes, p. 2; Sept. 21 minutes, p. 3), with no action recorded either time. After the Sept. 21 session, council approved "granting a $5,000 bonus to a Borough employee as discussed in Executive Session," 6-0 (p. 5). The minutes do not name the employee or give a reason.

Shade trees, the library and the Legion

• Council voted Aug. 17 to have Solicitor Michael Gombar prepare a revised Shade Tree Ordinance (Aug. 17 minutes, p. 2), then voted Sept. 21 to advertise the amended ordinance for adoption (Sept. 21 minutes, p. 3). No draft is posted.
• Christmas in Birdsboro contracts, approved 6-0: International Fireworks, $7,200; Krise Transportation, $950; Halter Landscaping, $11,500 for lights (p. 4).
• Heather Ellis, the new chair of the Boone Area Library trustees, said the library "has made the decision to remain in the Borough and not move to another municipality." Council approved an LSA grant letter of support for the library, 6-0, and Ellis said the library is awaiting bids for an environmental study at 219 Chestnut St. (p. 4).
• The Legion asked council to consider donating toward a ballfield stairs project quoted at $13,450 (p. 1). No vote is recorded.
• Kauffman said Exeter Township "recently adopted" an ordinance on e-bikes and scooters and asked whether Birdsboro should have one; Gombar said he would look at the ordinances (p. 4). Exeter's supervisors voted Sept. 14 to advertise their draft Ordinance 882 for adoption, not to adopt it, per our Exeter recap.
• Aug. 17: council approved ordering a public works dump truck, 7-0, with no price recorded, and the minutes say the Birdsboro Municipal Authority's $7,500 plow reimbursement "is to be put in next year's budget," with no vote recorded (Aug. 17 minutes, p. 2). A real estate purchase inquiry and litigation over 647 W. 6th St. went to executive session with no action (pp. 2, 4).
• The Sept. 21 treasurer's report put the general fund at $531,125.64, the Harms fund at $201,570.86 and liquid fuels at $74,945.62; council approved $62,126.23 in bills and ratified $206,431.28 in checks (p. 2). Paving of North and South Kelly Drive and Morgan Way is complete, and pedestrian crossing beacons go up once PennDOT approves (p. 3).

What happens next

The Oct. 19 meeting's amended agenda, posted or updated Oct. 23, adds only a Masonic Lodge presentation on an adaptive playground donation to the version we previewed, which carried the H&K blast update and the $148,163.64 roadwork payment. Minutes for Oct. 19 are not posted, so none of those outcomes is in the written record yet.

The Sept. 21 minutes announced a budget meeting for 6 p.m. Oct. 19 (p. 3); the Oct. 19 agenda moved it. The 2027 budget meeting is now 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16, followed by the regular council meeting at 7 p.m. (amended agenda, p. 2). Council meets the third Monday of each month, per the council page.

Sources and contact

Both sets of minutes are linked from the borough's council page. Borough Hall is at 202 E. Main St., Birdsboro, PA 19508; the office phone is 610-582-6030, per the borough homepage.