April’s Sock Hop event in downtown Warren was enough of a success that future downtown business promotions are being considered.

Randy Rossey, city codes officer, told council members during a recent meeting that business owners have said they were happy with the increased foot traffic downtown during the two-week business scavenger hunt.

There are 16 businesses participating, with shoppers invited to hop from shop to shop in search of a special handmade bunny. Shoppers could get a punch card at any participating business, find the bunny hidden in each shop and receive a stamp on the card and then snap a selfie – which was optional – and tag the business and mention Explore Downtown Warren, PA to enter the selfie contest.

“I would say that the downtown group will probably be looking at more ventures like this in the future,” Rossey said. “It really was successful. They were very pleased with the increased foot traffic.”

There was also a brief discussion of kiosks that will be installed downtown. The final designs have been sent to the Planning Commission.

Council members also heard a brief report on the boat ramp project from Mike Holtz, city manager, who said final touches are being made on the ramp’s engineering design and reviewing community surveys. Council members asked if they could get a copy of the surveys before the council’s May meeting.

“We’re still trying to decide what amenities we’re trying to put in once the boat dock ramp is in there,” Holtz said. “The truth is we haven’t had much in the last 30 days. We’ve been concentrating on trying to work on some funding for the boat ramp, though.”

There was also a brief discussion about whether or not President Donald Trump’s tariffs could drive up costs for the boat ramp project. Chad Yurisic, city engineer, said it’s too early to tell.

“I don’t know that we’ve been awarded for any projects in these small markets here since tariffs were announced,” Yurusic said. “As projects go to bid and we see prices come in we’ll start to have a better idea of what that starts to look like.”