A community member took to the podium July 10 at the Alburtis Borough Council meeting to express his extreme disdain toward certain members of the Alburtis Police Department. He complained the response by the police to the new fireworks ordinance during the Fourth of July was utterly horrendous.

This citizen said the same neighbors have been setting off fireworks at night on a consistent basis. Officers have been called several times and each time the officers report they have not seen any fireworks on the premises. This completely baffled the citizen at the podium.

His neighbor set off fireworks again on the Fourth of July and when the police responded, the citizen said the officer allowed them to set off more fireworks in front of him.

Council members and Mayor Kathleen Palmer were reeling about the lack of response by the officer on call and the police department. It was said the officer responding was the only officer on duty that night.

The citizen at the podium and members of council were in agreement the police did nothing to respond to the new fireworks ordinance and felt a lack of justice was served toward the community. A council member even stated firework debris was found in her yard from the night.

Mayor Palmer said she would request for the police department to be in attendance at the next meeting. Chief of Police Robert Palmer will specifically be asked why only one officer was on duty and the chief wasn’t working that night.

In other business, some residents of Alburtis living along Ridgeview Drive have been required to repost their mailboxes to a designated part of the street. This is in an effort by the post office to streamline their routes.

Currently, certain mailboxes along Ridgeview Drive can’t be reached from within a postal vehicle and the law does not require mail carriers to get out of the postal vehicle. This has made the current mail situation on Ridgeview Drive an extreme inconvenience and it was said 33 percent of the mail in that area returns as undeliverable.

Alburtis is classified by the postal service as a rural route, which dictates the borough should not receive a walking mail carrier. So, the new mailboxes need to be in places that can be reached by vehicle.

Council said they were sorry they could not intervene, as there is nothing that can be done by the borough to take action against the post office. Residents that cannot or do not want to put up the new mailbox will be required to pay $50 for a post office box in town.

Council Member Stephen Kaufman announced he has coordinated for the assembly of a disaster recovery plan for the borough’s files and information. He said the plan was a response to the ransom ware viruses that have hit Allentown and other city governments. He said ransom ware viruses threaten to delete all information if the ransom is not paid. The details still need to be discussed, though he wanted to inform the council of the decision.

In sad news, Frey’s Country Store will be closing after 33 years in business. Owner Harold Frey is retiring and it was clear those on the council would miss his food and conversation at the counter. Frey’s Country Store was described as a staple in Alburtis and will be missed by those in the community.