Council also voted to establish a CRIZ Authority and apply for approximately $326,000 to replace 261 fire department air cylinders.
POTTSVILLE — Pottsville City Council approved new downtown sidewalk restrictions, limited where new tobacco and smoke shops may open and positioned the city to pursue a potentially lucrative state revitalization program during its meeting Monday evening.
Council also voted to apply for approximately $326,000 to replace hundreds of air cylinders used by firefighters across the city’s six fire companies.
E-Bikes and Scooters Restricted Downtown
Council unanimously adopted Ordinance No. 953, formerly Bill 15 of 2026, regulating bicycles and other wheeled devices on sidewalks within Pottsville’s downtown business district.
The ordinance prohibits bicycles, electric bicycles, electric scooters, skateboards and roller skates or rollerblades from being operated on sidewalks within the designated district.
It also prohibits those devices from being operated on a street, sidewalk or other public property in a way that interferes with pedestrians.
Conveyances used by people with disabilities are exempt as long as they do not travel faster than the normal flow of pedestrian traffic. Riders younger than 12 are required to wear helmets.
The ordinance will take effect 10 days after its adoption. Violators may face a $25 fine.
Smoke Shops Limited to Manufacturing District
Following a public hearing held immediately before the regular meeting, council unanimously adopted Ordinance No. 954, formerly Bill 25 of 2026, regulating tobacco stores, smoke shops and certain retailers selling vaping or synthetic-drug products.
“In light of the proliferation of these types of stores in the city, City Council wanted to look at regulating them separately from other types of retail uses,” City Solicitor Gretchen Sterns said.
Under the ordinance, new tobacco stores and smoke shops will be permitted as a special use only within the M-2 Heavy Manufacturing District. The city’s M-2 district is located north of Peacock Street in an area occupied primarily by warehouses.
The regulations apply to retail or wholesale businesses where at least 15% of the retail floor space or gross revenue involves any combination of tobacco, vaping or cannabidiol products, synthetic cathinones or synthetic kratom known as 7-OH.
Vaping products covered by the ordinance include vaporizers, vape pens, hookah pens and electronic cigarettes. The tobacco-product definition also includes smoking accessories such as rolling machines, hookah pipes, ashtrays, matches and lighters.
Council Establishes CRIZ Authority
Council voted to establish a City Revitalization and Improvement Zone Authority and approved a $3,750 proposal from FSL Public Finance to assist with the process.
A City Revitalization and Improvement Zone, or CRIZ, allows participating municipalities to use qualifying state and local tax revenue generated within a designated zone to support infrastructure improvements and economic development.
Creating the authority does not mean Pottsville has received a CRIZ designation or funding. The state program is not currently accepting applications, but having an authority in place is a prerequisite for seeking a future designation.
Pottsville submitted an unsuccessful application for the program in 2024. City Administrator Robert Straebel said the city would be better prepared if Pennsylvania opens another application period.
Straebel estimated that Pottsville could receive between $1 million and $2 million annually if it is eventually admitted into the program.
“This would mean substantial funding to the city in the future, to the tune of probably $1 million to $2 million, to reinvigorate our downtown areas and some of our residential areas,” Straebel said.
He described the potential opportunity as “a game changer.”
Bethlehem, Erie, Lancaster, Reading and Tamaqua currently participate in the program. Tamaqua is the only borough among the five municipalities.
Grant Sought for 261 Fire Department Cylinders
Council voted to submit a 2026 Local Share Account grant application seeking approximately $326,000 to replace 261 air cylinders used with firefighters’ self-contained breathing apparatus.
The cylinders are used by members of Pottsville’s six fire companies and are expected to reach the end of their service lives in 2028.
“The cylinders expire in 2028, halfway through the year, approximately,” Fire Chief James Misstishin said. “They have a 15-year shelf life for a carbon cylinder. The shelf life is the problem. We’re not buying a whole new air pack. This is just cylinders at today’s price.”
Council considered several other potential LSA projects, including an estimated $1.7 million paving project on Walter Griffith Avenue and a proposed $181,000 Public Works salt shed.
Councilwoman Dorothy Botto supported making the breathing equipment the city’s grant priority.
“We need to put our first responders first — our police, our fire department, our EMTs,” Botto said. “That’s just the bottom line. We need to put them first.”
The Local Share Account program distributes casino-gambling revenue for infrastructure, public safety and community-development projects.
Street Excavation Rules Introduced
Council held the first reading of Bill 26 of 2026, which would update Pottsville’s street-opening regulations for the first time since the 1990s.
The proposed ordinance would establish a five-year protection period for newly paved streets. Any street opened during that period would be subject to more extensive restoration requirements.
“It will protect those recently paved streets and really protect the investment that’s being made by you, the residents, by us, the residents, in the money that we’re spending to pave these streets,” Councilman Jonathan Marsh said.
The proposal would require full lane-width restoration when two or more pavement openings occur within 50 linear feet during a 12-month period. Utility restoration work would also carry a one-year warranty.
“We’re really trying to cut down on the patchworking that’s going on in Pottsville,” Marsh said.
The ordinance would require city officials and utility providers to meet at least annually to coordinate underground work with future paving schedules. Bill 26 must return to council before it can receive final approval.
Jalapa Selected for Transportation Grant
Council agreed to focus its upcoming Multimodal Transportation Grant application on infrastructure improvements in the Jalapa neighborhood.
The proposed project would include street paving, sidewalk repairs and safety lighting. Officials will develop the project’s precise boundaries and scope as the application is prepared.
“Jalapa, here we come,” Mayor Smith said. “You’re next.”
Officials also reported that Pottsville received a state Strategic Management Planning Program award that would provide $200,000 annually for five years for technical and management consulting. The funding requires a 10% city match.
Land Bank Acquisitions Authorized
In a 4-1 vote, council adopted Resolution 174, authorizing the Pottsville Area Redevelopment Authority, acting as the Pottsville Land Bank, to acquire properties ahead of the .
The properties would be acquired for $100 each, allowing the Land Bank to control their future redevelopment or demolition.
“We can now control these judicial sales so the out-of-state landlords don’t come in and buy and let these blighted properties go into rack and ruin,” Smith said.
Councilman Scott Price cast the only "no" vote.
“I was never a fan of the Land Bank, so I’m just going to vote no on this one,” Price said.
Council also approved Resolution 172, approving a subdivision plan for 307 W. Market St., contingent upon Planning Commission approval. The action will allow the city to acquire and demolish a collapsing structure behind Discovery Park.
Requests for proposals are also being issued to demolish blighted structures at 313 S. Second St., 548 E. Market St. and 608 W. Norwegian St. The work will be funded with $125,900 in Community Development Block Grant money.
Officials reported that demolition work on Harrison Street funded through a separate CDBG allocation has been completed. Retaining-wall construction is expected to follow.
Paving and Cleanup Updates
The Public Works Department highlighted a new pothole-patching machine donated to the city by Reading Anthracite. The equipment compacts an oil-based aggregate mixture into damaged pavement to create longer-lasting repairs.
In-house paving is scheduled for the week of on portions of West End Avenue, Davis Avenue, King Avenue, Forest Road, Greenbrier Road, Terry Riley Way, A Street and Railroad Street.
Councilman Wollyung also reported that more than 150 volunteers participated in the Great Pottsville Cleanup, collecting approximately 120 bags of trash from the downtown area.
Appointments
Council appointed Wollyung to an interview committee that will help select an assistant city administrator and authorities and grants manager.
Council also adopted Resolution 176, appointing Keegan Brennan to the Pottsville Planning Commission. Brennan will complete an unexpired term ending .