The Jan. 25 meeting of Alburtis Borough Council began with a report from Alburtis Police Chief Robert Palmer.

Palmer discussed hiring a part-time police officer. He explained it would not add a police officer to the force, but replaces an officer who left. The officer would average about two shifts a week. Borough council approved the new police officer.

Palmer also talked about replacing the current stun guns, which are getting old. New stun guns would have an upfront fee of $3,100. In addition, the police force could pay $394 a year for five years to get two more stun guns. Council approved the new stun guns with one objection.

Jeff Ott, of Ott Consulting, talked about gathering information regarding work previously done in the borough’s sewers. He wanted to work on a project to reduce infiltration and inflow in borough sewers, which came from an EPA environmental order.

Infiltration and inflow cause dilution in sanitary sewers, decreasing treatment efficiency and possibly causing sewer volume to exceed design capacity. Ott explained the more money put into borough sewers now, the more money will be saved in the future.

Council also discussed a well-being of domesticated animals ordinance being pushed by an Alburtis borough resident.

The proposed ordinance would say domestic animals should not be outside for more than 30 minutes or an hour when the weather is above 90 degrees or below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, or more than 30 minutes when a severe weather warning has been issued. It would also say domestic animals who live outside must have enough food and water that is drinkable to satisfy an animal’s needs. In addition, domestic animals who live outside would need access to a clean shelter protecting the animal from inclement weather and keeping the animal dry and warm.

The resident assured council there would not be a problem if the animal appears to be enjoying itself and has been out slightly longer than necessary. It is different if the animal clearly doesn’t want to be outside and has been left outside for a substantial amount of time, the resident explained.

The resident’s main reason for requesting an ordinance is due to neighborhood dogs who stay outside for long periods of time. The animals in question have lost noticeable weight since November 2016.

Council decided to have Borough Manager Sharon Trexler write a letter to the homeowner in question and council would consider an ordinance and make a decision at the next meeting.

Next on the agenda were improvements to a trio of roads in the borough. The first issue was a fading crosswalk on Flint Hill Road. Council decided to eliminate the crosswalk because it ended in a driveway and posed a potential danger.

The second issue was parking on East Penn Avenue. There were cars parking in front of the bank and trucks parking on the grass field by the bank turning the field to mud. There would be five “no parking” signs set up between the curb and the stone turnaround. Council explained part of the problem was there was no curb on the street.

The next item on the borough council’s agenda was the Mobilitie plan for a utility pole. The proposed wooden wireless utility pole would be within the borough’s right-of-way and would be 45-feet tall, a significant reduction from the original 120-foot pole. Council questioned whether the needed technology could go on top of another pole instead of putting it on a new pole. They also considered having Mobilitie use the property previously offered to Verizon since they never signed a lease.

Council decided they would prefer for Mobilitie to use an existing pole and directed Solicitor David Knerr to write a letter to Mobilitie in response.

There was a decision to change the distribution method of new recycling totes in Alburtis. The original plan was for anyone who wanted a tote to come to the borough maintenance shed on a designated Saturday. Instead the borough council decided people who wanted a recycling tote would have to call the borough to put their name on a list. The borough would then deliver the recycling totes to residents with their address on it. The recycling totes would be offered to single family residences within the borough.

The meeting ended with a discussion of the police garage. Adding a second floor to the property could be difficult because it would require about $2,000 for an engineering plan. In addition, there would have to be an alternate code inspector. A possible solution was to build an extension on the maintenance building and hold on working on a police garage.

Alburtis Borough Council will hold its next meeting Feb. 8. Barring any holidays, the borough council meets the second and last Wednesday of each month. Meetings begin 7 p.m. and are held at borough hall, 260 Franklin St., Alburtis.