Emmaus Borough Council gave high praise to the public works department for efforts during the blizzard Jan. 23.

Councilman Roy Anders rode with some of the men while they cleaned up the roads.

“The crew does a phenomenal job of working in these tight spaces,” Anders said in regard to plowing through alleyways.

Anders said he wanted to make sure it was noted the hard work the department did for the borough. He especially gave praise to John Dychala, who is head of the public works department.

“He’s a true leader,” Anders said. “They [workers] respect him very well. You can tell that just by how hard they work and everything they do for him, and we are very fortunate to have him with our team.”

Borough Manager Shane Pepe said the feedback they received from the public was “phenomenal.” Pepe said that is usually not the norm during the storms and usually they get “beat down.”

Pepe said there were a lot of neighbors helping neighbors and that is what community is all about.

“We’re very proud of the fact that we saw firsthand how the community was helping each other throughout the storm.”

According to Pepe, the public works department went into a combined 572 hours of overtime. He said they worked around the clock starting 11 p.m. Jan. 22 to finally stopping Jan. 25 for a much needed rest. They all rotated 12 to 14 hour shifts.

Pepe said the borough spent roughly $9,000 on contracted services for snow removal and extra machinery. The extra machinery, including front end loaders and backhoes, were used to help clear alleyways because “a pick-up truck does not push five foot snow drifts.”

Pepe said the grand total spent on the storm was roughly $30,000.

In other business, ordinance 1135 passed its first reading, which deals with the updated speed limits established on certain streets such as Chestnut Street and Main Street.

Todd Ackerman was appointed to the Emmaus Planning Commission with a term expiring April 1, 2019.

Teri Song-McManamon and Michael Waddell were both reappointed to the Emmaus Arts Commission with terms expiring Feb. 7, 2019.

Jessica O’Donald was appointed to the Joint Environmental Advisory Council with a term expiring March 7, 2017.