A public hearing was held during Macungie Borough Council’s meeting Oct. 5 with the result that residents of Fairview Street are given an extension on required curb and sidewalk repairs.

In reviewing the matter prior to council’s vote, borough solicitor Patrick Armstrong said the coding officer had alerted all 18 property owners on Fairview they would be responsible for curb and sidewalk repair. Six residents appealed to council and were told to bring the matter before the planning commission, which they did.

The planning commission made their recommendation to council that a six-month extension– beyond the length of the six-month period granted in the original coding officer’s notice– be granted to the appellants.

Two residents claimed damage on the curbs was the fault of the contractor who had installed them, but Borough Manager Chris Boehm attested before council she had inspected the curbs and photographs from 2011 and it was determined the damage had not been caused by the contractor.

Council President Chris Becker wants to increase the length of the extension to avoid repaving the street during this fiscal year. At first he proposed 18 months, which would bring the deadline to February 2017, but that wouldn’t allow a significant amount of time to get the work done as the winter months are unsuitable. In order to budget for the project for the 2016-2017 fiscal year, the deadline was extended to June 2017.

Council therefore agreed by motion that all six residents who appealed would be required to complete the required repairs by June 2017.

In another, separate motion, council moved that the remaining property owners would be responsible for repairs in the same time period. This will apply under any change of ownership as well, as current property owners would be obligated to inform prospective buyers of the obligation.

In other business, the borough is still stuck in a crawl waiting for Pennsylvania Department of Transporation’s green light to build a traffic light. Though they have a permit, Becker says, it’s with several caveats. PennDOT wants the borough to tie up the traffic signal’s installation with the streetscape plan and the updating of handicap ramps in one multidimensional construction project.

Becker wants to do the light on its own, and believes the borough can demand better pricing than what has already been quoted. Trying to complete the installation of the light, the handicap ramps and the streetscape plan will only slow things down more and Becker stressed the importance of installing the signal as early as possible– this year, even.

Now, it is reported, PennDOT (and its legal council) wants a letter from Norfolk Southern authorizing changes and that, Boehm says, could take even longer than PennDOT’s approval.

In addition, Becker says there may not be enough money to do both Cotton Street and the traffic light, which together could end up costing over $600,000. Already on capital projects the borough has spent $578,629. It is estimated the light will range anywhere from $268,000 to $310,000, and work on Cotton Street from $300,000 to $371,000. Becker says it is imperative to push PennDOT for the traffic light in this fiscal year.

Boehm informed council PennDOT has opened up multimodal grant opportunities until December, allowing for the borough to apply for funds that could be used to further the streetscape plan. The grants require a 30 percent local match. Federal funding cannot be used to meet the 30 percent, and Boehm says it would be “pretty tight” for the borough to flip that bill.

David Boyko offered his thanks and compliments to the fire department, emergency response services and fire police for coming to the community’s aid during two fires on Hill Crest Drive this week. “Just fantastic,” Boyko said.

Roseann Schleicher announced the Southwest Lehigh Comprehensive Plan group has built a website and though still incomplete, it is open now for visitors. Information on the comprehensive plan can be found at www.planswl.org.

Schleicher also announced three discussion groups (charettes) will be held in January for stakeholders in the community, followed by a public meeting to present information discussed in the charettes.

Boehm announced there will be a budget workshop Oct. 12.