Hollidaysburg Borough appoints Wertz as new council member

Wertz chosen to fill seat left vacant by Gingrich resignation

The Hollidaysburg Borough Council appointed a new member to fill the council seat left vacant by the resignation of Clay Gingrich, who represented the third ward.

It was noted during Thursday evening's meeting that Gingrich had recommended Stephanie Wertz as his replacement. The council agreed with this recommendation and unanimously appointed Wertz to the seat.

Gingrich was elected to the council in 2023 and tendered his resignation

June 11 after moving out of the borough. Wertz will serve in the seat until the next election, when she can run to retain the seat, according to Borough Manager Ethan Imhoff.

Wertz was not present at the meeting.

Hollidaysburg's third ward is home to the Gays­port neighborhood, which has been plagued by flooding from stormwater runoff for years. Contractors for the stormwater mitigation project, which broke ground in early 2025 but had to stop work after several Native American artifacts were found on the site, were given a notice to proceed June 29.

When the artifacts were discovered, the state Historic Preservation Office began a Phase I study to determine the scope of artifact inclusion. In June 2025, the preservation office recommended conducting a Phase II study, which set the project back nearly a year.

With the approval of the Phase II environmental report and receiving a permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection, contractors have begun mobilizing equipment and excavating the site to install the new drainage pipe. The contractors will have 90 days from receiving the notice to proceed to complete the project.

"The project is moving forward in full," Imhoff said. "We are very excited about that."

Council approved a $278,042 change order for the project, to be added onto its initial price tag of $432,000. Imhoff said the change order was a result of price increases over the previous year. That increase put the project about $20,000 over the amount the borough received in grant funding.

With the project moving ahead, Gaysport resident Elda Boose stepped forward during the meeting's public comment section to share her excitement on the progress and gratitude to everyone involved. She said her fears have turned into hope.

"For those of us who have lived with repeated flooding, this is more than just another construction project," Boose said. "It represents hope that the future generations of Gaysport families will not have to experience the same losses, uncertainty and anxiety so many of us have endured."

Another stormwater management project, the East-End Project, is developing as the borough staff held a meeting with PennDOT District 9 officials to discuss the $1.4 million PennDOT Transportation Alternative grant, which will fund sidewalk and traffic safety operations.

In other business, Imhoff told the council members that borough staff met with downtown business owners to talk about parking meter time limits. Imhoff said several business owners requested that the parking time limit on the blocks of Allegheny Street not adjacent to the courthouse be adjusted to three or four hours rather than two hours.

However, councilmember Jeffrey Ketner said that increasing the time limit would be a "problem" as more spaces would be occupied for a longer period of time. With the county parking garage closed, the council agreed that four hours is too long and that the time limit will remain two hours.

The council also approved a $22,240 bid to replace the municipal building's office and exterior door locks. Imhoff said the change was needed due to the current keypad locks being decades old and malfunctioning.

Imhoff said after the meeting that the borough had received three bids for the project and that the one approved was the lowest. The expense was accounted for in the borough's budget.

Mirror Staff Writer Jayla Nartatez is at 814-946-7535.