SAXONBURG — After some discussion, the borough council voted 6-1 Tuesday night to support the county campaign to encourage residents to follow coronavirus guidelines.

Mary Papik, borough manager, said the county commissioners want municipalities to pledge their support for the call to action issued last week for residents to wear masks, follow social distancing, sanitize surfaces, practice hand-washing, avoid large gatherings and avoid non-critical activities.

The call to action was made as Butler Health System officials and the Butler Area School District superintendent reported their resources are being stretched thin due to the uptick in COVID-19 cases in November.

Papik asked the council to pass a resolution to sign on as supporters of the call to action.

She said the county's goal is to avoid shutdowns like those in the spring, when the coronavirus first affected the area.

Papik said if the number of new cases, which is averaging 38 per day as opposed to 16 new cases average per day for the entire month of October, does not decrease after Thanksgiving, the commissioners may take more drastic steps to stem the tide of COVID-19 in the county.

Councilman Josh Novotny asked Papik if passing the resolution means the borough supports all future action that may be taken by the county regarding the coronavirus.

Papik said it did not.

Councilwoman June Crawford voted against the measure.

She said after the meeting that she had not reviewed the commissioners' call to action, so she could not support participating in it.

“I don't like wearing masks because I can't breathe in them,” Crawford said, “but I understand what's going on and I wear a mask when I need to.”

Culvert payback

The council also voted to approve paying back the state Municipal Liquid Fuels Program $30,000 for two emergency culvert repairs.

Papik explained that heavy rains in 2018 caused the collapse of two culverts in the borough, which were repaired.

The repairs were paid through the Liquid Fuels funds that are distributed to municipalities by the state Department of Transportation each year.

But PennDOT informed Papik that because the borough did not declare an emergency after the heavy rains, the Liquid Fuels funds were not eligible for the culvert repairs.

The council voted unanimously to reimburse the borough's Liquid Fuels fund with $30,000 from the borough's general fund.