At Tuesday’s meeting, Fred Proper stepped down as Bradford City councilman.
As he stepped down, he made a final statement that some may deem as controversial.
“I hope to see continued cooperation, and as much as we may hate to say it, a consolidation of communities,” Proper said. “We extend the services, important services, of the city out to the townships, but we will not be able to sustain the services we have if we don’t unite. If the core dies, the whole area dies.”
He was careful to note that they were his own opinions and not that of council.
Proper stated that the reason for his stepping down is to move closer to family in Reading. Proper has served on the Bradford City council for over 7 years, helping to improve the quality of life of those living in Bradford. He did not seek re-election for another term.
Terry Lopus — who is running unopposed for a council seat in the fall general election — was sworn in as Proper’s replacement. This isn’t Lopus’ first time serving on city council as he has served the city three decades ago.
“I’m happy to serve to be serving the city again, and continue to move it towards the right direction,” Lopus said.
The council also reassigned council members to oversee various city departments. The new assignments are as follows: Mayor Tom Riel, public affairs / Office of Economic and Community Development; Councilman Brad Mangel, director of accounts and finance; Councilman Terry Lopus, director of parks and public property; Councilman Dan Palmer, streets and public improvements / department of sanitation (refuse); Councilman Tim Pecora, public safety / ambulance building and health / planning and zoning.
Also on the city council agenda were several other motions that were authorized. One was a multimodal transportation fund of $525,000 from the Commonwealth Financing agency to be used for streetscape improvements on Main Street in the city’s downtown historic district.
The other was a grant application from Bill Parris in the amount of $4,623.70 representing half of the total cost of the project to renovate the facade and install lighting and signage to the building located at 15 Main St.
The city of Bradford board of health met prior to the council meeting to discuss an address correspondence from Rich Middaugh, owner of 35 Roberts St. The board agreed to grant Middaugh an additional 30 days to complete work on the property, as Mike Cleveland, health director, said on his behalf, “[Middaugh] does good work when he sets his mind to it. I believe he can get it done in this amount of time.”
The board granted the motion, with Riel making the final statement, “Anytime someone sincerely wants to fix and improve a residence in the area, I feel that we should help that person along.”
