A new year means a new beginning for the Emmaus Borough Council as a new president and vice president were chosen at the Jan. 4 meeting.

Lee Ann Gilbert, who has served the past six years as council president chose not to reprise her role as president.

Council voted 7-0 in favor of Councilman Brent Labenberg as new council president.

Wesley Barrett was nominated and approved 7-0 as vice president.

“I would like to thank Lee Ann for her service,” Labenberg said. “I don’t know of any council president that has devoted so much time to this borough and it’s greatly appreciated.”

“I think it’s actually unprecedented the amount of time you did commit to that role,” Barrett said.

“I’m gonna top that” Mayor Winfiled Iobst said. “I’m gonna say, as far as working with the president and being well prepared and everything, and doing so much also for my sake which is really important, she’s the best.”

In other business, council members were assigned to their new committees. Labenberg, who had been president for a mere five minutes, got his new term started by announcing he was going to dissolve the health, sanitation and codes committee.

“The board of health will get rolled into the General Authority, the sanitation will get rolled into public works and the codes into a new committee called the building committee,” Labenberg said. “It will be responsible for meeting with the architect, or the public works director, or anyone else with respect to moving into our new borough hall facility.”

Gilbert questioned the act of dissolving the committee due to it being covered by an ordinance. Borough Solicitor Thomas Dinkelacker said the committee can only be dissolved by an ordinance, so at the current time the committee cannot be dissolved.

Barrett suggested the decision go to the General Authority committee. “I’m not denying that we can’t make the change, I’m just saying why we don’t take it to a committee, which is where we do almost everything.”

The decision on whether to dissolve that committee will be taken to the General Authority committee.

The following is a list of the newly assigned committees:

•Public Works: Councilman Nathan Brown (chairman), Councilman Roy Anders, Councilman Chris DeFrain

•Building Committee: Councilman Jeff Shubzda (chairman), DeFrain and Brown;

•Park and Recreation: Anders (chairman), Barrett and Labenberg;

•Public Safety: Gilbert (chairwoman), Barrett and Brown;

•General Administration will consist of Barrett (chairman), Labenberg and Gilbert;

•Budget and Finance: Labenberg (chairman) Shubzda and Gilbert; and

•Community Relations, Planning and Development: DeFrain (chairman) Shubzda and Anders.

Council unanimously voted to appoint the following officials to their designated positions for the year of 2015: Ambulance Corp. Chief – Jeffery Hoffman; Animal Control Officer – Richard Hontz; Borough Manager and Secretary – Shane Pepe; Borough Solicitor – Dimmich and Dinkelacker; Director of Finance and Treasurer – Kristin Snyder; Certified Public Accountant – France, Anderson, Basile and Company; Civil Service Commission Solicitor – Davison and McCarthy; Code Enforcement Officer, Public Works and Public Work Inspector – James Farnsworth; Earned Income and Local Service Tax Office – H.A. Berkheimer; Emergency Management Coordinator – James Krippe; Engineer: General, Water, and Sewer – Hanover Engineering; Fire Chief and Director of Emergency Services – David Nelson; Fire Inspector – Daniel Sell; Health Officer – Garry Ritter; Pension Consultant-Police and Non-uniform Mockenhaupt Benefits Group; Per Capita Tax Office – H.A. Berkheimer; Police Chief – David Faust; Public Works Director – John Dychala; Sewer Enforcement Officers – Jacob Schray, Jeffery Huff and Christopher Taylor; Special Labor Council – Ballard Spahr LLP; Lead Snow Enforcement Officer – Paula Weiant; Zoning Hearing Board Solicitor – Ronald Corkery Esq.

Council approved the following people to be reappointed to various committees: Carl Wieder to the Emmaus General Authority with a term expiring Jan. 1, 2021; Ziad Munson and David Cole to the library board with both terms expiring Jan. 1, 2019; John Stover to the vacancy board with a term expiring Jan. 1, 2017; Jeffery Hoffman to the board of health with a term expiring Jan. 1, 2021; Susan Schmidt to the zoning hearing board with a term expiring Jan. 1, 2019; Ron Gilbert as an alternate to the zoning hearing board with a term expiring Jan. 1, 2019.