AVOCA — Borough council members held their first public meeting in their new municipal building Thursday evening and a new full-time police officer was sworn in.
At the start of the meeting, borough mayor Robert Mullen swore in Robert Callahan, who was appointed to be the borough’s third full-time police officer at a special meeting on Dec. 27.
The council members approved a motion during their regular December meeting for Chief of Police Dave Homeschek to interview part-time police officers within the borough for the position.
He said Callahan, a Harding resident, brings experience as a part-time officer working within Avoca, as well as in Hughestown, and as a public safety officer at Wilkes University.
Homeschek said Callahan’s experience will help the borough tremendously.
“(I’m looking forward to) the ability to have another guy that’s here more and completely dedicated to investigations as opposed to a part-timer that might only here twice a month,” he said. “Somebody that gets to know the people in town and is a staple in the community.”
Also during the meeting, Alex Becker, pastor of Langcliffe Presbyterian Church, announced the purchase of a property on 911 Main St. to be converted into a coffee shop.
He anticipates it will open later this year.
In other business, the council members approved:
• The quarterly hiring of 19 part-time police officers.
• Hiring a shredding company to provide locked shredding containers for the borough secretary and police department.
