Macungie Ambulance Corps. presented the 2017 annual report at the May 21 Macungie Borough Council meeting.

The organization responded to 3,645 calls for assistance, responded to 40 special operations incidents and provided certification training for over 600 individuals in CPR, AED and first aid. Personnel also participated in various community events.

Macungie Ambulance operates five ambulances, one incident support vehicle, one all-terrain vehicle and one community outreach/supervisor’s vehicle. These vehicles drove over 63,000 miles and cost nearly $70,000 to operate.

The building housing Macungie Ambulance underwent an expansion in 2017. The expansion now has room for 11 vehicles which alows room for future growth.

Further discussion about the Streetscape project continued including planning for tree planting. It is suggested council members mark the areas where trees are to be planted. Several council members attended a seminar on street trees, learning about the types of trees recommended for planting.

Planting of the bump-outs is beginning. A bump-out extends the sidewalk by about 6 feet and some bump-outs will have wild flowers. A suggestion was made for residents to consider volunteering to adopt a bump-out to assist with its maintenance including weeding and other gardening.

Macungie police provided a monthly report for April stating there were 225 incidents which included vehicular incidents, traffic citations, parking tickets and traffic warnings.

Discussion revolved around speeding and crosswalk violations. Issues such as how to determine if someone is speeding was a topic. If procedures are not followed, violations can get thrown out of court. An example was given when following a speeding car. The vehicle must be followed for a one-quarter mile which can be difficult on borough roads.

It is also difficult to catch vehicles that do not stop for pedestrians. When the police are present, it does not happen.

In other business, Mayor Ronald Conrad attended a meeting with other local mayors. He learned of other municipalities’ issues and said he found the experience interesting.

Borough Manager Chris Boehm said there are items which have been replaced or no longer used which may have potential resale value. Some items have been discarded without consent. Boehm said an example is towel dispensers which were replaced at borough hall where the older dispensers had resale value. Planters at the fire department are worth approximately $500 which will be resold. Moving forward, all items being discarded should be cleared with the borough manager.

Discussion about the Streetscape project continued including planning for tree planting. It is suggested council members mark the areas where trees are to be planted. Several council members attended a seminar on street trees, learning about the types of trees recommended for planting.

There was a large water leak at Macungie Village Apartments. The borough is requesting a credit from Lehigh County Authority. This credit will be issued at year end.

There was an executive session regarding personnel.