By SARIT LASCHINSKY

Special to The Press

Officials from Upper Macungie Township recently presented a look into ongoing township business and programs during the Western Lehigh Chamber’s Virtual Municipal Update.

Supervisor Kathy Rader provided a brief update on traffic and road construction, which she said was a “primary focus” for the township in order to serve more than 750 businesses and 24,000 residents.

Rader said much of the construction is along Route 100 as part of the Route 100 Betterment Project, in the vicinity of Schantz Road.

She also thanked state Sen. Pat Browne, R-16th, for incorporating the ongoing Adams Road interchange construction with other projects along I-78, and for securing more than $400 million for all the included projects.

Rader added the township was in the process of widening the point-of-access study for the interchange project, and more information would be presented as the project moves into the design phase.

Upper Macungie Police Officer William Rohrbach, which spoke about the police department’s HUB program, which brings together community resources to “collaboratively assess potential problems and expedite effective services to individuals, families, groups or situations with the greatest need or most adverse community impact.”

Rohrbach said the model was based on a Canadian system for addressing complex human and social problems - like mental health or drug/alcohol use - before they become policing problems.

He said the HUB is focused on “early, multidisciplinary, preventive interaction” to devise an “evidence-based problem-solving approach.”

Rohrbach explained how the HUB team looks for a range of risk factors, which are used to determine the best-suited services. He said referred individuals usually need to meet at least four risk factors in order for their identity to be shared with the HUB group.

Rohrbach said an initiating agency presents a case without any subject identification, to decide if there is enough potential risk to identify the subject.

If sufficient risk factors are not present, the person is directly referred to the necessary organization.

However, if enough factors are determined, the individual can be identified and an intervention plan will be put in place, usually within 72 hours.

Rohrbach said the HUB is primarily police driven.

“And that’s just because we tend to deal with the people in crisis the most often out of our group, answering 911 calls,” Rohrbach said.

He also noted the HUB group includes front-line professionals representing multiple human service disciplines and is focused on immediately take collaborative action based on identified acute risk factors, connecting at-risk individuals and groups to the most urgently-needed services, and creating “realistic and achievable” responses.

HUB organizations include the police department, countywide services, Parkland School District, the district attorney’s office, National Alliance on Mental Health, and Pinebrook Family Answers, among numerous others.

Rohrbach said by the end of its second year the HUB had named 90 individuals and directly referred five others to different services.

“I think this is the future for law enforcement, and I’m proud to say Upper Macungie’s been doing it for two-and-a-half years now,” he said.

Recreation and Events Coordinator Lynn Matula also provided some highlights on the township’s ongoing events and parks.

Matula said Upper Macungie needed to adapt or cancel plans due to the ongoing pandemic but noted that a number of programs were successfully able to continue.

She made note of a virtual photo scavenger hunt, the township’s first pickleball tournament, tennis and pickleball lesson programs - with smaller class sizes - and two drive-in Movies in the Park events.

Looking forward Matula said Upper Macungie is planning to hold several events in 2021 while still incorporating as much social distancing as possible for safety.

These events include a Kid’s Noon Year’s Eve Party from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Jan. 3, 2021, at Trexlertown Fire Company Station No. 25 and an Easter Bunny Scramble 9 a.m. March 27 at Lone Lane Park, as well as several spring and summer programs.

Matula also spoke about the township’s large areas of park land and highlighted some of Upper Macungie’s 10 official parks, numerous dog parks, playgrounds, splash parks, sports fields and fishing areas.

She noted a recreational community center is under development at Grange Park, and the township was looking for grants to add more playground equipment to all its parks to draw more attention to smaller spaces such as Apple or Church Street parks.

She said they want to offer more activities at larger parks such as Lone Lane and Grange, and increase the township’s trail connections.