3 new members take borough council seats
Harrisville's borough council filled its three empty seats at a special meeting Tuesday night.
“These people are for the community and it's heartwarming to know that we're all in it for each other and the community,” said April Anschutz, council president. “It's heading in the right direction.”
Three council members — former council President Robert Hovis, former Vice President Russell Stemrich and Councilman Jim Fischer — abruptly quit last month.
In the wake of the departures, the remaining council members elected Anschutz as president and Mary Ann Hughes as vice president.
At the meeting, three residents — Linda Moore, Heather Krenn and Christopher Todd Simmons — were nominated and council members unanimously voted to seat them for terms that will run to the end of 2019.
Moore, a borough resident of more than 20 years, worked at Slippery Rock University for about 32 years. She belongs to the Harrisville United Methodist Church.
“I think it's a great community,” Moore said. “It's a small-town atmosphere, but people care about each other. I want to make sure that it moves forward in a positive motion.”
Krenn, a resident of 16 years, previously served on council for 10 years. She said this year she was involved in the Community Day activities on the Fourth of July.
“I'm excited to bring in a new outlook and work with a new group of people,” Krenn said.
Simmons, a resident of 18 years, is the postmaster for Harrisville. He also has been a member of Sons of the American Legion for about 10 years.
Simmons said he was concerned about what would happen to the borough if someone didn't step up and fill the council positions.
“I was just coming to make sure the council doesn't fold up,” he said. “I want to make sure the town keeps going.”
Anschutz said tension within the council has subsided and she encouraged all the members to put forth new ideas.
“You can just see the individuals more at ease to bring different ideas to the table,” she said. “It's heartwarming to know that they're all opening up just from a little change.”
Anschutz said there was some backlash after members quit, but the community has calmed and is now looking forward. She said the former council members have also been silent since their exit.
“We haven't heard anything in the last month of backlash, so I don't see anything in the future,” Anschutz said. “They're good people. It's not like they approached me or the council members in any negative way. I don't think it's going to happen.”
She hopes members of council can sit down and develop three goals they can work toward with the time they have left with the three new council members.
“If we don't have a solid foundation in our council, then we can't grow within our community,” Anschutz said.
She also said she hopes they make a priority of connecting with the community and showing that they are willing to listen to new ideas.
“We want to make sure that they know that we're open to trying new things in our community,” Anschutz said.
The new members joined an executive session following their appointment to discuss personnel matters.
