PD News

November 19, 2009

Pittston raises police strength

IAN CAMPBELL Times Leader Correspondent

PITTSTON – Two police hirings by council Wednesday were met with spontaneous rounds of applause from the many police officers, family and friends present in chambers to watch the vote.

The hiring of Joseph Galeski and William Lukasavage, at salaries of $34,366 each, resolves a problem that the city had been facing for months, with part-time officers effectively doing the work of full-time staff.

Galeski and Lukasavage, in addition to being two of the longest-serving part-timers, also passed the civil service tests the city held several weeks ago, and virtually every member of the department was on hand to hear the council vote on their hiring.

The move had been a long time coming, Mayor Donna Connors said after the meeting, and was a staffing step she had sought for some time.

In other business, council approved a recommendation of the planning commission to change a portion of land from open space to R2 multifamily, as outlined in a request to the planning commission by developer Mark Popple.

Earlier in the meeting, resident George Tigue, who lives opposite the land in question in upper Pittston, had protested the request, noting he tried many times to buy the land but had been told by past and present members of the city staff and government that the land could not be used for anything other than open space.

He said Popple’s purchase of the land should be governed by the same stipulation that had been made to him regarding its use.

Tigue suggested that the sewer line the development will tap into will not be adequate for heavy use, and he urged the city to ensure a bond be held on the project for five years in order to make sure that if problems develop, the city will not be on the hook for their repair.

The land will be governed by major subdivision ordinances and will form part of an extension of the Blueberry Estates development, council noted.

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