During the Nazareth Borough Council meeting on Monday, Oct. 7, resident Becky Butz voiced concerns about some of the conditions in the borough from residents being repeat offenders for code violations.
Butz opined that the borough has been insufficient in the enforcement of current ordinances, stating that the conditions of some residences within the borough are “disgusting” due to trash and overgrowth on their properties.
Councilman Christopher D. Crook expressed that there are two individuals in charge of zoning, code enforcement and inspections, and although they are spread thin, Crook and other council members felt that the individuals are not doing a good job for the $180,000 that the borough pays their employer, Barry Isett & Associates.
Crook also shared that the borough is looking into what to do about this inadequacy and intends to discuss the matter with the company and bring it before the law committee to rectify the situation.
In other news, under public property, council unanimously approved the following motions: the use of the park on Wednesday, Oct. 23 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for a trunk-or-treat event conducted by Resources for Human Development; payment for the rental of two porta potties from United Site Services for use at the Halloween parade on Saturday, Oct. 19 at a cost of $500; the bid submitted by Super Heat Inc. for the library’s original house HVAC upgrades conditioned upon the library’s previous acknowledgment that they bear the complete financial obligation to fund and manage the project; a $1,000 donation to Vigilance Hose Company No. 1 for the annual Halloween parade; and a $1,000 donation to Vigilance Hose Company No. 1 for fire prevention week.
Under finance, council unanimously approved receipt of the borough’s 2024 state pension aid in the amount of $142,148.51, the transfer of $47,146.83 from the Embassy Park account to the PLGIT Park account, the transfer of $500,000 from the PLGIT reserve to general funds and the extension of the Nazareth Regional Ambulance Corps repayment date from November 2024 to June 30, 2025.
Next, council unanimously approved a handicapped parking spot on Spring Street and direction for the treasurer to turn over the recently received Fireman’s Relief state aid in the amount of $36,534.41.
Under law, council unanimously approved an amendment to the Resident Parking Permit Ordinance to provide two generic guest tags to each residence located in the permit parking zone without the need for an application and to eliminate contractor tags from the ordinance.
Council also approved a motion to advertise an ordinance to make it unlawful to keep or maintain chickens, ducks and any similar type of bird or fowl, including geese, turkeys, grouse, pheasants, partridges and any other game bird, migratory bird or wild bird. Council will consider approving the ordinance at the November or December meetings. If approved, the ordinance will be effective beginning on Jan. 1, 2025.
Under public works, council unanimously accepted the winter maintenance services agreement from PennDOT and direction for the secretary to place an ad to advise citizens of the borough’s procedures for the fall 2024 collection of leaves, which will also be available on the borough’s website.
During reports, the Vigilance Hose Company No. 1 fire chief’s report for the month of August showed that they responded to 35 total service calls, including 17 fire alarms, four motor vehicle accidents, four wire problems, one carbon monoxide alarm, one dwelling fire, one gas leak, one move-up assignment, four pump details, one odor investigation and 11 mutual aid calls.
The September monthly police report showed 398 total police activity/calls for service, 32 crimes reported and investigated, 22 criminal arrests, four drug-related crimes, eight Part 1 offenses, 123 traffic citations, 101 warnings issued, three reportable traffic accidents and 13 non-reportable traffic accidents, as well as 166 parking enforcement officer violations and 69 officer issued violations, for a total of 235 parking tickets issued for the month.
Additionally, council unanimously approved advertisement of the budget meeting, which will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 23 at 6 p.m. and to cancel the monthly workshop meeting on Oct. 31, which has been rescheduled for Monday, Nov. 4 at 5 p.m. All meetings for the duration of October and November will be held at the Nazareth Regional Ambulance Corps building in the back area due to the construction being done on Borough Hall.
The next Nazareth Borough Council meeting will be held on Monday, Nov. 4 at 6 p.m. at Nazareth Regional Ambulance Corps, located at 519 Seip Ave.
