Hamburg renews Littell Center, police director contracts

HAMBURG — The Hamburg Borough Council voted unanimously to approve the extension of two expiring contracts at its March 3 meeting.

The first first on the agenda regarded the shared service of Franklin's Littell Community Center, which gets a lot of use by Hamburg residents, according to Mayor Paul Marino.

Councilman Chris Kelly was "pleased and surprised to see the attendance," noting Hamburg senior citizens get more use out of the facility than those from Franklin.

In addition to being a meeting place for senior citizens, the center is used by Hamburg School students for dances and is a meeting place for area Little League players.

Part of the expense of using the facility goes to the management of Hamburg sports fields, Marino said, which would be an added expense if the agreement were not extended. Workers from the community center also have agreed to help get Hamburg's new baseball field in playing shape for the upcoming season.

The cost of the shared service will increase $3,000 over the course of the two-year contract, bringing the total cost to $13,000 by 2015.

Police Director
The council appreciates having "an experienced law enforcement officer, albeit retired, running the police department," Councilman Rich Krasnomowitz said.

The group backed up those words by extending the contract of Police Director Wayne Yahm for one year at the cost of less than $52,000.

"I think he's done a great job for the last two years," Marino said.

Introduced in 2012 after the retirement of Chief Jan Wright, the police director position saves the borough nearly $100,000 per year in salary and benefits costs. In keeping his end of the bargain, Yahm has been essential in making several improvements to the police facility as well as successfully applying for thousands of dollars worth of grants.

Yahm thanked the council for its continued confidence and promised "a lot more good things will be coming this year."