At the Dec. 17 Emmaus Borough Council meeting, an ordinance passed its first reading which will require the inspection and testing of lateral sewer pipe connections of homes in Emmaus that are going to be sold.

“This ordinance is a direct result of the requirements from the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) administrative order,” Borough Manager Shane Pepe said.

“One of the things that both the EPA, LCA (Lehigh County Authority), City of Allentown and everyone else is saying, is that a large portion of water that is hitting our sewer lines and making it to the plant is coming from sewer laterals.”

Pepe said the General Administration committee has been looking at the best way to tackle the issue for the past six months. The committee felt the best way to approach the issue without “knocking on everyone’s house and telling everyone in the borough all at once they have to get an inspection,” was to make it a requirement for all houses to be inspected if they are going to be sold.

The inspection will involve high-tech cameras being used to detect cracks, leakages, pipe collapses, damages by tree roots and any other issues they may encounter.

If an issue is found, either the seller or the buyer will have to repair the pipe. Pepe noted the mandate will not only affect residents, but the borough itself as well. If the issues are coming from the end of the lateral where the pipe hooks into the borough, then the borough will have to pay to fix it.

Pepe said this isn’t something they were begging to do; “It’s something that we’re being told needs to be done. This goes along with all the stormwater mandate stuff that keeps getting jammed down our throats.”

Councilman Chris DeFrain said in the long run this is better for residents because not only will it fix their problem, but the new homeowners will have the benefit of knowing what the issues are going into the sale.

Pepe said the borough will be releasing more detailed information on the ordinance in the spring newsletter and real estate offices will be alerted and educated on the issue. The ordinance is expected to go into effect sometime in late April or early May 2019. Residents can pay the borough $225 to do the inspection, or have a private inspector do it for a slightly higher cost.

In other business, council approved the refuse collection and compost site assessment fees for 2019. Due to the new municipal refuse and recycling contract, the costs of refuse and recycling have increased to $360 per unit if paid on or before April 3, 2019. The fee is broken down to $354 per unit assessment for refuse and a $6 assessment for compost site use.

If the fee is paid before or on March 4, 2019, a $10 reduction will be given. Per the ordinance, there is also a discount for residents who are 62 years old or older and fall under certain categories including total household income and number of residents residing in the house. Residents who qualify with the listed specifications and fill out a form provided by the borough manager will have to pay $180 per unit.

Any resident who does not pay on or before April 3 will be subject to fees and penalties outlined in both Ordinance 964 and Ordinance 1057, including but not limited to a $20 penalty, and if needed, the cost of collections.

Council unanimously voted to adopt the 2019 fiscal year budget. The distribution of the budget is as followed: $11,083,078 under general, $1,417,746 under fire, $1,193,080 under water, $2,367,041 under sewer, $823,975 under debt services, $417,337 under capital projects and $590,150 under liquid fuels. The grand total is $17,892,257.

Council also unanimously passed Ordinance 1184, which will raise borough taxes by 13 percent. The property tax millage will rise to 5.6654 mills, while the fire fund tax will remain the same at 1.0961 mills. The total combined funds from general and fire will come out to a 13 percent tax hike for homeowners with properties assessed at the borough’s average of $161,100.

A public hearing was held prior to the full council meeting regarding Ordinance 1183, which involves modifying parking requirements for craft beverage restaurants and craft beverage production facilities located in the central commercial zoning district. Under this revised ordinance, craft brewing restaurants or facilities falling into the central commercial zoning district will no longer be required to have a set number of parking spaces. This revised ordinance will also make it consistent with other downtown businesses in the district that have liquor licenses. Council voted 6-0 in favor or revising the ordinance.