The follow-up regular board meeting for the Lower Milford Supervisors took place April 16 in a Zoom virtual meeting.

Supervisor Chair Donna Wright ran the meeting with Supervisor Vice-Chair Ellen Koplin. Former chairperson and supervisor John Quigley was not able to participate.

Wright began the meeting by announcing, “Pennsylvania legislature did pass that municipal governing bodies can, in fact, hold meetings with a quorum virtually.” Lower Milford Township Solicitor Mark Cappuccio followed by stating legislation was passed, but he did not know if the act was officially signed by Gov. Tom Wolf.

After the announcement, public comment was requested by Wright, but there was none.

The next item was the retention of counsel. A motion was made by Koplin to retain Joseph Rudolph, an attorney at Clark Hill. In the fall of 2019, Rudolph helped defend Lower Milford Township in litigation against a former township police officer.

“Most recently, he began assisting in the investigation of improprieties,” Koplin said.

This motion was at the recommendation of Cappuccio. Koplin said the township wanted to renew the engagement with Rudolph to assist with an ongoing impropriety investigation. Details of the impropriety were not given.

Lower Milford Township is working with Clark Hill on an internal investigation and a motion was made to extend the ongoing work. The motion to send an updated engagement letter to Rudolph and his law firm, Clark Hill, was accepted.

The past month’s meeting minutes were tabled until a May report can be released. Wright said there were organizational issues due to virtual complications following the previous regular board meeting held April 2.

The past meeting was cut short after former Township Manager Zach Cooperman was terminated in a motion made by Koplin. Cooperman quickly cut the connection following his termination

The last action item in new business was to pay the township bills. Wright motioned to accept with a revision. A Bank of America charge for $109.98 was taken off pending further investigation. The motion was accepted following the revision.

Before old business was addressed, Wright said she or any township officials have received no word of any COVID-19 cases in Lower Milford, though statistics may not be fully reported.

In old business, a motion to authorize the township’s bank signatories was put forward. The signatories will be Township Secretary Stacy Smith and township Supervisors Wright, Koplin and Quigley. Quigley had previously refused to sign the paperwork with the four names on it. “His name should stay on,” Cappuccio said. Therefore, the motion was accepted with his name on it. Cappuccio concluded by mentioning he would talk to the bank to see if he can get Quigley’s name taken off since he has categorically refused to sign.

Following this, two motions were quickly accepted. The first was to permit the Lower Milford Fire Police to assist with the Coopersburg 5K race scheduled for May, though this might be postponed. The second was to convert the General Election Day, which was an approved holiday, to an additional personal day. This is because the election was moved from the township municipal building, now allowing specific workers to work. That set holiday was moved to a personal day.

One of the closing items included an approval to allow for emergency construction on a fire-damaged dwelling. This was approved with the comment that, if permitted, they should be following COVID-19 recommended safety protocols.

An additional item dealt with a township dwelling which had a faulty and improperly installed sewage tank and a lack of permits. There were also reports of an apparent small business being run in the garage. The owner was issued warnings; however, there has been no response to address these issues. Cappuccio stated a 15-day warning to vacate the premise will be sent.

No escrow agreement was wanted by the supervisors, so no motion was needed. The vacate notice was supported due to the lack of home inspection and a malfunctioning sewage system.

In closing public comments, a community member asked about the open position for township manager. Wright responded the discussion on the position would take place soon. She said for right now, because of the lockdown, these decisions are tough.

The next Lower Milford Board of Supervisors meeting is scheduled 6:30 p.m. May 21. The meeting will, most likely, take place virtually on Zoom. Check the lowermilford.org website to keep updated on the schedule.