The Nazareth Borough Council met Monday, Jan. 6 to swear in fire chiefs and fire police, commend the marching band for their undefeated competition season, appoint commission and board members and consider various events for 2025.
To begin, Mayor Lance E. Colondo swore in Fire Chief Jerry Johnson and Second Assistant Chief Frank Betz, as well as Fire Police Captain John Gostony and officers Kerry Frey, Raymond Fogel and Heather Kromer to faithfully uphold their duties.
Following, Colondo presented the Nazareth Blue Eagle Marching Band with a resolution to commend and honor Band Director Matt Tanzos, his band officers, band members, color guards, drum majors, the student conductor, the band front and support staff for their tremendous 2024 undefeated competition season and the unprecedented number of championships they have won throughout eastern Pennsylvania and the mid-Atlantic region.
Nazareth Blue Eagle Marching Band’s recent victory has left them undefeated since 2019.
Colondo presented the band members in attendance and Tanzos with citations that congratulated and honored them for their recent championships and terrific accomplishments at local, state and regional levels. Colondo also thanked the band members for continuing to bring pride to the borough and the district, and wished them many more successful seasons to come.
Tanzos thanked council for recognizing the hard work that the students put in to win the championships and stated that they do a great job representing both the Nazareth community and the school district.
Tanzos also noted that he was fortunate to grow up in Nazareth and march in the program himself.
“It’s really surreal to be here and continuing that legacy now as director. So, thank you again for having us and we’ll try and do it again next year!” said Tanzos.
In other business, council unanimously approved the following motions listed under finance and economic development: a resolution prohibiting member contributions to the Police Pension Plan; the hiring of Campbell, Rappold & Jurasits to do the annual audit for 2024 and submit it to the Pa. DCED by the deadline and to do the annual audit of Tax Collector Carole Bowers for 2024 for submission to the borough; naming Alfred Pierce as the borough’s 2025 delegate to the Northampton County Tax Collection Commission and Paul Kokolus as the alternate; approval of the $100 deposit refund to Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce following their Christmas in Nazareth event and the $100 deposit refund to Nazareth Chamber of Commerce following their tree lighting event; direction for the secretary to advertise parameters, rates, compensation and office rental fees for the tax collector for the term beginning in 2026; and to set the rates and standards for the elected tax collector for 2026 through 2029, which includes compensation to the elected tax collector in the amount of $11,500 per year for the collection of borough real estate taxes, as well as $5.00 for each tax duplicate bill and rent for the Main Street office will be $1,000 for the year 2026.
Under police, council approved the appointment of Dan Lowe to a six-year term on the borough’s Civil Service Commission and the appointment of Christopher D. Crook to a three-year term on the Library Board.
Mayor Colondo also provided the monthly police report for December, which included 196 total police activity/calls for service, 21 crimes reported and investigated, 13 criminal arrests, three drug-related crimes, two Part 1 offenses, 21 traffic citations issued, 30 warnings issued, four reportable traffic accidents and 11 non-reportable accidents. Additionally, there were 52 parking enforcement officer violations issued and 18 officer issued violations, which accounts for 70 total parking tickets issued for the month of December.
Next, council approved the following motions listed under law: appointment of Mark Ortwein to a four-year term on the borough’s Planning Commission; appointment of Robert E. Simpson to a three-year term on the Zoning Hearing Board; appointment of Barbara Fischl to a one-year term on the Vacancy Board (Councilman Carl A. Fischl abstained); appointment of Lisa Borick to a five-year term on the Nazareth Day Commission; appointment of Werner Fornos to a five-year term on the Municipal Authority; setting the times and dates for workshops and general business meetings during 2025, which will begin at 6 p.m. during all 12 months with general business meetings, which will continue to be held at Nazareth Regional Ambulance Corps until further notice with general business meetings being held on the first Monday of each month and workshop meetings being held on the Thursday preceding each general business meeting; and direction for the Secretary to advertise the dates for workshops and general business meetings during 2025.
For the motions listed under fire, council approved the appointment of Jeffrey Corpora to a five-year term on the Ambulance Board (Councilwoman Cindy Corpora abstained), the appointment of Kaitlin Betley to a one-year term as an alternate on the Ambulance Board and the appointment of Michael White to a one-year term as the borough’s emergency management coordinator.
Additionally, council unanimously approved the following upcoming events: the Vigilance Hose Fire Company’s Shamrock 5K Race to be held on Sunday, March 16; the Fireman’s Easter Egg Hunt to be held on Saturday, April 12; the Fireman’s Carnival to be held June 18-21; the Fireman’s Fireworks Show for Nazareth Day to be held on Tuesday, July 15; the Fireman’s Money Raffle to be held on Saturday, Sept. 6; and the 2025 Halloween Parade to be held on Saturday, Oct. 18.
In other news, during the special meeting conducted on Dec. 16, council approved a half-mill tax increase. This brings the borough’s total millage rate up to 17.5 mills and will increase the average assessed homestead’s tax bill by approximately $27.50 per year.
The next Nazareth Borough Council workshop meeting will be held on Thursday, Jan. 30 and the next regular monthly meeting will be held on Monday, Feb. 3. Both will begin at 6 p.m. in the Nazareth Regional Ambulance Corps training room, which is located in the back of 519 Seip Ave.
