Minersville Borough Council voted Tuesday to appoint Justin Frantz to fill vacancy on the board.
Frantz won a split vote that need a tie-breaker nod from Mayor Sean Palmer during Tuesday’s regular council meeting.
He fills the vacancy created by the resignation of Councilwoman Ashley Securda, who is moving out of the borough.
Seven people applied for the vacancy. One of them was not a borough resident and was disqualified. Three others attended Tuesday’s meeting and told sitting board members why they’d be a good fit.
Each of the three in attendance – Frantz, Bernard Lescavage, and Alex Kurtek – were each nominated by members of the board. That led to board members voting among those three for who would fill Securda’s vacancy.
Councilwoman Donna Palmer and Councilman Jeffrey Enders voted for Frantz. Joseph Slovick voted for Kurtek. And Councilmen Ian Mahal and Jamie Kuehn cast a vote for Lescavage.
The 2-2 deadlock was broken by Mayor Palmer, who cast the deciding vote for Frantz.
Mahal said during the meeting that it was encouraging to see so many applicants for the vacancy. In the past, he said, they struggled to even get a single applicant to step up for a vacancy.
Many will recognize Frantz as the current head football coach for Minersville Area High School.
He said following Tuesday’s meeting that one of the main reasons he decided to apply for the position is what he sees happening in Minersville, specifically on Borough Council.
“I saw what they’re doing in town and it’s just great to see how the town’s getting back to like it used to be,” Frantz, a Minersville native, said.
He said he never thought he’d see himself serving as a borough Councilman and hopes that he can be part of getting Minersville back to the way it used to be when he was growing up here.
Asked to explain what he meant by that, Frantz said, “I felt like when I was younger, it was very family-oriented. Everybody knew everybody. I think we got away from it a little bit. I love the town. I’ve always loved the town. I just want to keep it up.”
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