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Mark Kosoglow of Tyrone has announced that he will run for a four-year term on Tyrone Borough Council.
Kosoglow was appointed to Tyrone Borough Council in 2005 and served on Council for four months until elections were decided. This was when former council member Sharon Dannaway was hired as Tyrone Borough Manager, thus having to resign her council seat.
“I enjoyed my term on council and felt that after feeling my way around, brought a lot to the table. I saw how my perspective and business experience could benefit the community,” Kosoglow said. “More than anything, that experience has caused me to enter this year’s elections.”
Kosoglow is currently serving as a member of the Northern Blair County Water Authority.
Kosoglow said that if elected, he would like to make sure annual budgets are completed on time and that creative revenue increases are reviewed and implemented to avoid tax increases. He would also protect the cash reserve past leaders accumulated as a guard against unforeseeable negative circumstances and continue to beautify the town by seeking grant moneys and putting pressure on local “slum lords” and owners of vacant or decrepit buildings.
He would also like to create an environment that welcomes new businesses and jobs. Kosoglow would like to join in Mayor Jim Kilmartin’s efforts to improve recreational facilities in town for adults and kids, like the Reservoir Park basketball court renovations and the skate park initiative. He would also like to make sure the relationship between council and local businesses is healthy and mutually beneficial.
“I have lived in Tyrone for almost seven years. I moved here to help with the local youth ministry, Joshua House. Through my work with the kids there and the friendships I have made with people in town, I have grown to love Tyrone,” Kosoglow said. “I have a deep desire to see it become an even greater place to live and work. The sense of community in our town is very special and I would hope to be able to maintain that. We have had businesses in the past come in to the area and I want to make sure the proper things are being done to keep the doors of opportunity open for more jobs.
“I am excited to raise my kids in a town with great schools, parks, jobs, industries and people. As a member of borough council, I want to maintain the balance of traditions and neighborliness that caused me to love to live here with the incentives and programs that will entice new businesses to move to the area to benefit our local employment situation. I also feel the wise decisions of past leaders should be stewarded through the fiscally realistic and conservative viewpoint I hold.”
Kosoglow and his wife Julie have been married for nine years. They have three children, Maqqel, Mia, and Sammy. He moved to Pennsylvania in 1994 to attend Penn State University. He graduated from Penn State with a degree in marketing. He has worked for Great American Opportunities for the past six years, helping local schools organize and run fundraisers. In his career, he has raised over $1.2 million in profits for schools in central Pennsylvania. He is currently involved with Joshua House and attends Antioch International Church. He is also a coach for the Tyrone AYSO Youth Soccer League.
