During the Borough of Bath Council meeting on Monday, April 2, council members and residents welcomed a new face and said goodbye to a familiar one.

At the meeting’s start, Frank Hesch was sworn in as council’s newest member, filling in the seat left vacant by former councilwoman Cynthia Anderson. Hesch had interviewed for the open seat alongside Mike Reph and Harrell Geter.

After the interviews, council voted on which candidate they believed should fulfill the roll. Councilman Tony Kovalovsky, Councilwoman Carol Bear-Heckman, and Councilwoman Michele Ehrgott all voted for Geter. Councilman Mark Saginario, Councilman Barry Fenstermaker, and Councilwoman Phyllis Andrews voted for Hesch. With council split 3-3, Mayor Fiorella Mirabito served as the tie breaker, casting her vote for Hesch.

“All three candidates were very difficult to choose from,” said Saginario.

Andrews agreed.

“They were excellent,” she said.

Meanwhile, it was announced that Emilio DeNisi resigned as fire chief of the Bath Volunteer Fire Department as of April 1. His resignation was announced via a letter read by current fire chief, Chuck Tully.

“The members of the Bath firefighters have been wonderful to work with,” DeNisi said in his letter.

DeNisi said he will always be available to help the fire department and its members, but has stepped away from his duties as fire chief in order to focus on his growing company and his family.

“This is definitely with regret,” said Saginario.

“He will stay involved as much as he can,” Saginario added of DeNisi, “[but he has to] do some family stuff right now.”

In addition to Tully serving as fire chief, Paul Connolly, Jr. will serve as 1st Assistant.

Saginario praised the fire department’s seamless transition.

“It shows the foundation he [DeNisi] built there,” he said. “[And he has] got a good team around him.”

Tully praised his fellow firefighters.

“The members make it seamless,” he said.

Other news in Bath:

  • Linda Kortz, a professional exhibit and museum designer, gave a presentation to the board on plans for the future Bath Museum.

Kortz, who has designed exhibits for Mack Trucks, AT&T, and even the Colombian Embassy in Manhattan, is helping the museum’s committee plan its space in the new municipal building pro bono.

“The space is tiny,” she said, “but not undoable.”

She explained that the museum is currently going through a lot of its materials. The collection is being condensed so the museum can better tell “the story of Bath.”

While some items, like the museum’s organ, must go, other items, like the Friendship Quilt and a map of the borough from the 1800s, will remain and engage residents and visitors alike with the borough’s rich history.

“We have got some phenomenal stuff over there,” Kortz said.

“The museum right now is just a collection of stuff,” said Bear-Heckman. However, Kortz is helping reorganize “the entire museum around ideas and themes.”

  • The annual Earth Day park cleanup will not be held this year, though another cleanup is being planned for the fall. Residents are encouraged to hold their own neighborhood cleanups in the spirit of Earth Day.
  • The next council meeting will be held on Monday, May 7. However, a town hall will also be held in the borough on Saturday, May 5.

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