The Nazareth Borough Council met Monday, June 5 to discuss the Council Chambers project, borough insurances, the hiring of a part-time police officer, and the hourly wage of traffic control officers.
Under public property, council unanimously approved the direction for the Nazareth Borough Municipal Authority to proceed with its proposed addition to the Council Chambers. The authority presented details of the project to council at the June 1 workshop meeting and NBMA will now finalize the potential lease and design before beginning construction on the project.
Council also unanimously approved the request of the NEDC for the closure of S. Main Street from Belvidere to W. Walnut Street on Saturday, July 29 for use by farmers market vendors during the 2023 Martin on Main event.
Council members also approved use of the park on Tuesday, July 25 from 6 to 8 p.m. for the First Responder Ice Cream Night sponsored by Thrivent Financial to provide free scoops of ice cream for patrons while seeking donations for the borough’s first responders, and for the annual Kazoo Parade to be held on Saturday, July 1 beginning at 10 a.m.
Under finance, council unanimously approved the renewal of the borough’s package of insurances with Brown & Brown of the Lehigh Valley for a total cost of $165,761. The total represents an increase from the 2022 total of $149,538 and includes liability, vehicles, inland marine, contractor’s equipment, and police/public officials’ errors and omissions with Brown & Brown of the Lehigh Valley and Trident Insurance Group for the Public Officials Policy and Employee Practices. Trident will also provide the general liability, law enforcement, and vehicle policies while Selective Insurance Group will provide inland marine and property coverage.
The total cost of the Municipal Entity Insurance package, which includes worker’s compensation coverage, is $260,567 and includes professional services for administering the borough’s worker’s compensation coverage with both the state fund for volunteer firemen and administering the regular borough worker’s compensation with Susquehanna Municipal Trust for an annual cost of $79,001. State Worker’s Insurance Fund coverage for firemen is an additional $15,805. Total premiums also include administering benefit services for health insurances and their yearly renewals plus human resource consulting and compliance counseling.
Under police, council unanimously approved the hire of Pierce Petrozelli as part-time police officer conditioned upon the passage of all necessary certifications and background checks, and the increase of the traffic control officers’ hourly wage from the current $13 per hour to $15 per hour.
For the month of May, the Nazareth Borough Police Department reported 340 total police activity/calls for service, 34 crimes reported and investigated, 23 criminal arrests, two drug-related crimes, six part 1 offenses, 68 traffic citations issued, 62 warnings issued, and 16 non-reportable traffic accidents. For the month of May, Parking Enforcement reported 271 parking enforcement officer violations issued, 106 officer issued violations, and 377 total parking tickets issued for the month.
Under fire, council unanimously approved a resolution that certifies the borough’s filing of a Municipal Fire Department Capital Grant program proposal seeking $100,000 in grant assistance for reconstruction of the firehouse floor.
Next, under law, council unanimously approved ordinance amendments to the parking ordinance to properly establish a 15-minute parking space, two one-hour spaces, and to establish “no parking” in two of those spaces in the southwest corner of the circle on Saturday mornings during operation of the farmers market.
Under environmental steering and lighting, council regretfully accepted the resignation of Brian DeMarco from his position as Upper Nazareth Township representative on the Nazareth Borough Municipal Authority.
Council then approved the direction for the borough engineer to begin the process of writing up specifications for the upcoming Reuse and Recycling contract for 2024 and subsequent years.
Last, council unanimously approved the purchase of two PCs for use in the police department at a cost of $6,020.50.
Nazareth Borough Council will have a workshop meeting on Thursday, June 29 at 6 p.m. and the next regular monthly meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 5 at 6 p.m. in Council Chambers.
