For the past several months, there has been an issue with electric bills that are mailed not being delivered or arriving late to residents.  Please be aware the bills go to Harrisburg and back because they are bulk mail. They do not come from Catawissa’s local Post Office.

If residents do not receive their bill by the seventh of the month, call the Borough Hall at 570-356-2561, and we will prepare a replacement bill.  The Borough is not waiving late penalties for bills due to issues with mailed bills.

The Borough also offers options to customers to have bills sent electronically each month to an email account, instead of through the mail, as well as ACH payments, ACH payments will be automatically withdrawn from your bank account on the 15^th of the each month.

The ACH Form can be found under the Forms menu. Please fill out and return to the Borough Hall with a voided check.

Sorry for any inconvenience this may be causing. We are all at the mercy of the postal service.

The following is information for Borough Residents to utilize the Bloomsburg Recycling Center. PLEASE read and following their guidelines. There is a $10.00 fee per load for entering the compost site for non-residents of Bloomsburg and identification MUST also be shown.

Haley Conner & Eliza Fenstermacher of Girl Scout Troop 60084 did an AWESOME “Book Box” they designed, erected and donated to the Catawissa Borough for it’s residents to use. The Book Box is located next to Catawissa Borough Hall. Thank you so much to these girls and the Girl Scout Troop 60084!! 

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There have been many questions about draft meeting minutes. Draft meeting minutes are not a public record according to the Pennsylvania Right to Know Law Section 708(A) (see below). Once meeting minutes are approved by majority vote the minutes become public record. Unless meeting minutes fall under Governor Wolf’s Act 15 (see below), please note the Bold type. That is the only time draft minutes will be posted before a vote is taken to approve meeting minutes.

Approved previous month’s meeting minutes will be posted the day after approval on this website. Approved meeting minutes can be discussed at the next month’s Council Meeting and corrections if needed can be approved by Council then.

ACT 15 – signed by Governor Wolf

Local Government Meetings.

 

Section 5741 allows a borough council, authority, planning commission, zoning hearing board or other entity of the municipality to meet remotely by telecommunications device. A physical quorum is not necessary, however, a quorum must be established on the telecommunications device to conduct business. Telecommunication device is defined as any device which permits, at a minimum, audio communications between individuals.

Notice must be given of public meetings held under this section. Public notice includes either on the borough’s website or in the newspaper of general circulation or both. If you have a website you should post the meeting notice on your website and a newspaper of general circulation. If you do not have a website, notice must be placed in a newspaper of general circulation. The notice must include the meeting date, time, technology to be used, and how the public may participate. To the extent possible, the borough council, planning commission or zoning hearing board must allow for public participation through the telecommunications device or written comments.

Written comments may be submitted to the physical address of the local government or a designated e-mail address. Draft minutes from any meeting held under this section without advanced notice to the public to address issues related to the COVID-19 emergency must be posted within 20 days of the meeting or before the next regularly scheduled meeting, whichever is earlier. Posted seems to imply on a local government website. If you do not have a website, we suggest posting them in the borough hall or office to comply with this section.

 

 

Pennsylvania’s New Right to Know Law

Section 708. Exceptions for public records

(10) (i) A record that reflects:

(A) The internal, predecisional deliberations of an agency, its members, employees or officials or predecisional deliberations between agency members, employees or officials and members, employees or officials of another agency, including predecisional deliberations relating to a budget recommendation, legislative proposal, legislative amendment, contemplated or proposed policy or course of action or any research, memos or other documents used in the predecisional deliberations.

(B) The strategy to be used to develop or achieve the successful adoption of a budget, legislative proposal or regulation.

(ii) Subparagraph (i)(A) shall apply to agencies subject to 65 Pa.C.S. Ch. 7 (relating to open meetings) in a manner consistent with 65 Pa.C.S. Ch. 7. A record which is not otherwise exempt from access under this act and which is presented to a quorum for deliberation in accordance with 65 Pa.C.S. Ch. 7 shall be a public record.

(iii) This paragraph shall not apply to a written or Internet application or other document that has been submitted to request Commonwealth funds.

(iv) This paragraph shall not apply to the results of public opinion surveys, polls, focus groups, marketing research or similar effort designed to measure public opinion.

(21) (i) Draft minutes of any meeting of an agency until the next regularly scheduled meeting of the agency.
(ii) Minutes of an executive session and any record of discussions held in executive session.

Please help keep Community Aid supporting our Borough.

• Do not place trash in the Community Aid bin.
• Do not place donations on the ground. If our bin is full please bring donations back another day. Any donations ruined by weather are considered trash.

When donations are left outside of the bin, donations go from gracious donations to wasted gifts the moment they are impacted by wet weather. All weather ruined donations become trash. This negatively impacts Community Aids ability to support Catawissa Borough.

If the Community Aid bin is full, please take your donation to your local Community Aid Donation Center at 1070 N Susquehanna Trail, Selinsgrove, PA 17870. Please give your community information so Catawissa Borough can receive proper credit for your donation.

**DO NOT LET ANY DONATIONS OUTSIDE ON THE GROUND!!

The following link is a printable copy of the inspection list used for Catawissa Borough Residential Rental Property Inspections:

Residential Rental Unit Inspection Checklist

 

The fees for registration, licensing and inspection are as set herein below:

Amended fees for licensing and inspection are set herein under Resolution 10-2020

 

 

 

To schedule a Residential Rental Property Inspection click here.

 

If you would like to pay your water bill on the same check as electric or sewer the check must be mailed to First Columbia Bank and Trust 347 Main St. Catawissa PA 17820. As of 7/5/2016 the Borough no longer accepts water bill payments at the Catawissa Borough Office.

There is an electric refund scam going on in the Catawissa area. If you receive a phone call stating you were over charged on your electric bill and they are offering a refund with a 30% discount on your next bill. Do not give any information over the phone. Catawissa Residents did not get over charged. We advise you to hang up and report the call to the police.

Residents are reporting this call is coming from Direct Energy. Direct Energy is not your electric provider.

 

This report is the culmination of months of planning, analysis of economic trends, data gathering and interpretation, visioning, and prioritization. The process began in April of 2019, with the creation of the Catawissa Borough Stakeholder Advisory Committee lead by Penn Strategies. Their skill sets, varied expertise and institutional knowledge have resulted in this focused, thoughtful blueprint for growth in the Borough of Catawissa.

The goal of this plan is to provide a road map for the total redevelopment of Catawissa Borough. The goal of this plan is to outline specific steps that, if taken, will make Catawissa a better place to live, work, and raise a family. In order to design a plan for future growth for the Borough, it is important to consider the past.

 

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy Plan

 

 

Catawissa Borough is accepting reservations for our Community Center located at 319 Pine St Catawissa. The fee is $100 (plus tax) for Catawissa Residents and $150 (plus tax) for non-residents plus a $100  security deposit. The Community Center can be rented for a Business Event, Private Use, Community Sponsored Event or a Non- Profit Meeting. A copy of the Rental Policy is available for review Monday – Friday 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. at The Catawissa Borough Hall 307 Main St. Catawissa.