The March 29 meeting of the Alburtis Borough Council included Macungie Ambulance Corp’s 2016 annual report, presented by Chris Greb.

According to Greb, the Macungie Ambulance Corps responded to 3,689 calls in 2016, which was an increase of 206 over 2015 and sets an all-time record.

Of the 3,689 calls, 116, or 3 percent, came from Alburtis Borough compared to 10 percent from Macungie Borough and 69 percent from Lower Macungie Township.

The Macungie Ambulance Corps operates four ambulances and three support vehicles, which logged over 65,000 miles in 2016. The corps also ordered a new ambulance expected to arrive around the middle of 2017 with a cost of over $200,000.

Greb also talked about an incident support vehicle added in 2016 to replace an ambulance from 1994 serving the area 23 years.

Council also discussed possibly hiring an administrative assistant to work for the borough. The position would include billing and collecting annual per capita taxes as well as general duties such as photocopying, filing, typing and data entry. The job would also include taking telephone calls, assisting residents at the counter and keeping current records on rental properties.

Council members talked about changing the job title from administrative assistant to office assistant. Council members also discussed changing the knowledge of Microsoft Word requirement to knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite. They decided the hours would be 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday although the hours would be flexible. There was discussion over making sure the position would not be more than 20 hours a week. The plan for the administrative assistant position passed by a 3-1 vote.

Another item discussed during the meeting was Footprint Zero, an energy conservation initiative lead by PPL Electric Utilities. The project would involve replacing lights and light fixtures in borough hall with LED lights. After an incentive of $1,700, the project would cost the borough $6,800. PPL would come in and perform all installation work. The project would save the borough an average of $3,817 a year.

Council questioned whether they have enough money in the budget for the project this year and asked if it was possible to put the project in the budget for 2018.

Council discussed the remaining 220 recycling containers. Lower Macungie Township asked for 69 of the recycling containers, which would make the two municipalities even when it came to the containers.

In addition, a $300,000 grant received from the state was mentioned at the meeting. The grant would be used for sewer maintenance and repair.

Alburtis Borough Council will hold its next meeting April 12. Meetings are typically the second and last Wednesdays of the month and start 7:00 p.m. at Alburtis Borough Hall, 260 Franklin St.