Borough Council
Previous Borough Council meetings can be viewed CNET, Comcast’s Government Education Channel 7, or on C-Net’s website here.
The deadline for Council Agenda items to be noon the Thursday prior to the Monday meeting. Anything received after noon on Thursday will be included in the following meeting. [Council approved February 22, 2022]
Bellefonte Borough Voting Wards Map
(Click here to determine which council member represents your ward)
Randy Brachbill
Ward: South Prescient 3
Address: 120 Badger Lane
Phone: 814-404-2298
Email: rbrachbill@bellefontepa.gov
Term Expires:12/31/2027
Randall Brachbill was elected to the Bellefonte Borough Council in 2014 representing the South Ward. He currently serves as Council Vice President and was elected to serve on the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs Board of Directors in 2019. Brachbill is the Chairperson of the Safety Committee and serves on the Streets and Building & Property Committees. Additionally, he represents Bellefonte Borough on the Civil Service Commission, Nittany Valley Joint Planning Committee, Centre Region COG Public Safety Committee, and the Bellefonte Fire Dept. Executive Committee.
Randy has over 30 years of experience in Facility Management which included a nursing facility, Altoona Hospital (UMPC) and AccuWeather, from where he retired in 2019 as Vice President of Facilities.
His community involvement includes the Logan Ambulance Service and Bellefonte Arts & Crafts Fair. He was also a member of the Bellefonte Area Jaycees (a leadership development organization), where he held several offices including President. Brachbill went on to serve the Pennsylvania Jaycees as their 53rd President and received the Allen Whitfield Memorial Award as one of the top 20 State Presidents in the United States. He currently volunteers with a curriculum planning committee for the Bellefonte OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Penn State) Committee.
Brachbill is a lifelong resident of the Bellefonte-area graduating from the Bellefonte Area School District and Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology. He resides in the South Ward with his wife Cathy. Together they have an adult daughter, Lindsay who is also a BASD graduate and holds degrees from both Penn State and Clemson Universities.
Doug Johnson
Ward: North Precinct 2
Address: 610 E Linn Street
Phone: 814-353-4145
Email: djohnson@bellefontepa.gov
Term Expires:12/31/2027
bio to come
Kent Bernier
Ward: North Precinct
Email: kbernier@bellefontepa.gov
Term Expires:12/31/2025
Kent has been a resident of Bellefonte for the past 17 years. He is a Marine Corps Veteran, having served from 1987-1993. Kent enlisted in the PA State Police in 1994 after graduating from Penn State and earning an Administration Of Justice Degree. He served 26 years as a State Trooper, retiring in 2020 as a Lieutenant.
Deborah Cleeton
Ward: South Precinct 3
Address: 450 S Allegheny Street
Phone: 814-353-1709
Email: dcleeton@bellefontepa.gov
Term Expires:12/31/2027
Joanne Tosti-Vasey
Ward: West Precinct 5
Address: PO Box 68
Phone: 814-355-3056
Email: jtosti-vasey@bellefontepa.gov
Term Expires:Term exp 12/31/2027
I advocate for transparent governance at all levels of government, open communications with community members, historic preservation, civil rights, environmental sustainability, health care for all, and the economic vitality of our community.
I am one of nine elected members of the Bellefonte Borough Council. I represent the 3rd (West Ward) along with two other individuals. I was first elected to the Council in 2015 and started serving in January 2016. I served as President of the Council from 2018-2021. As President, I made committee appointments, created council agendas, and presided over council meetings and work sessions. I also represented the Council on the Bellefonte Police Pension Committee, the local Cable Consortium, and the Spring Creek Watershed Commission. I served as the Spring Creek Watershed Commission Chair from January 2020 through December 31, 2022, and am a member of the Spring Creek Watershed Atlas Working Group.
I have been active as a community organizer in the non-profit world for about 35 years. I currently serve as the Vice-President of the Bellefonte Historic Preservation Foundation, as Chair of the Centre County Advisory Council to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, and as the Parliamentarian for the Women’s Caucus of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. I serve as a member of the Board of Directors for Health Care for All Pennsylvania. I am one of four people representing Centre County at the Pennsylvania Democratic State Committee. I previously served in multiple capacities with the National Organization for Women at the local, state, and regional levels of the National Organization for Women. I served as President of Pennsylvania NOW, Inc. from 2006 to 2011 and as a regional board member of the National NOW Board of Directors from 2012 – 2016.
I live here in Bellefonte with my husband, Joseph Vasey, and my son, Kenneth Vasey.
Johanna Sedgwick
Ward: West Precinct
Address: 213 E Lamb Street
Phone: 814-355-3742
Email: jsedgwick@bellefontepa.gov
Term Expires:12/31/2025
Bio to come.
Shawna McKean
Ward: West Precinct
Address: 245 W Linn Street
Phone: 814-355-5684
Email: smcKean@bellefontepa.gov
Term Expires:12/31/2025
I have been a resident of Bellefonte for the past 13 years, having originally hailed from Penns Valley. I have some ideas that I would like to see implemented in Bellefonte to contribute to the preservation of her history, increase tourism with new events, and revitalize the business community. If you see me out and about in the community with Nikita, my Siberian Husky please stop and say hello. I look forward to meeting you.
Rita Purnell
Ward: North Precinct 2
Address: 420 E Beaver Street
Phone: 814-571-3793
Email: rpurnell@bellefontepa.gov
Term Expires:Term exp 12/31/2025
I moved to Centre County from southeastern PA to attend PSU in the fall of 1983 where I earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s of Agricultural Engineering. While completing my master’s degree I met my husband, John, and decided that this area would now be home. John and I have lived in Bellefonte since we married in 1991 (in Spring Township from 1991-2008). We moved to our current home in the Borough in the fall of 2008.
I love the small town feel and friendliness of the Borough. I became involved in Borough Council because I wanted to make sure that decisions that council makes are in the best interests of the residents in ways that protect their rights and are fiscally responsible.
Little known fact about me is that I grew up in a family that lived by “Reduce, reuse and recycle” way before it became cool. 😊
Barbara Dann
Ward: South Precinct
Address: 225 S. Monroe Street
Phone: 814-883-8708
Email: bdann@bellefontepa.gov
Term Expires:12/31/2025
I have been a resident of Bellefonte all my life. I’ve benefited from the many opportunities that come with living in a safe, clean, and caring environment. I’ve watched as many exciting new projects have been completed in our town. I’ve always believed public service to be such an honorable and valuable endeavor and have often thought about how I could contribute. Like many people, I suppose, there was always something standing in the way. Career, family, taking care of a home, hobbies and any number of other reasons contributed to me putting off action till another day. I reached a point in my life where I felt I needed to take action. I started by becoming more educated and informed about the day-to-day operations of local government. I decided to be directly involved and help make a real difference in the manner our beautiful town is managed. I want to be a voice for our most important resource, our citizens.