BY SARIT LASCHINSKY

Special to The Press

After the conclusion of a preliminary budget meeting before the Oct. 15 Heidelberg Township supervisors’ meeting, Germansville Fire Chief Jay Scheffler reported the fire company had decided on an air pack manufacturer and was moving forward with the replacement project.

He also reported that due to renovation work, space will be arranged upstairs for the public, adding there was an elevator to stay ADA-compliant.

Scheffler also said he spoke with state Rep. Gary Day, R-187th, and would be working with him to improve communication with PennDOT regarding road closures and shutdowns.

He noted the department’s five-year agreement to repay overpaid fire tax funds - discussed at numerous previous meetings - was taken care of and would be submitted to the board shortly.

In the ambulance report, board Chairman Steve Bachman said Northern Valley Emergency Medical Services had an average response time of 7.3 minutes in August and noted a letter from NOVA highlighted a billing deficit.

He said the township may have a $10,000 allocation in the budget as a possible discretionary donation to NOVA.

Scheffler requested township representatives mention the subject of NOVA payments during multitownship meetings.

He also said Heidelberg was paying the second-highest amount for the service.

“I think it’s pretty simple, you look at the call volumes for the boroughs they cover, and the municipalities, and you look at the amount of money those municipalities are giving them and see if its comparable across the board, because it should be,” Germansville Deputy Chief Randy Metzger added.

“Somebody is not paying their fair share, where we may be.”

Township Administrator Janice Meyers said NOVA had a yearly municipal round-table but representatives from Slatington - one of the major recipients of NOVA services - and Walnutport had not recently attended.

She also noted that while North Whitehall Township gives generously to NOVA per capita, Washington and Lowhill townships do not contribute as much to the service as Heidelberg’s per capita payments.

In other matters, for the parks and recreation report, Bachman said the bathrooms at the Lions Pavilion were being trashed and would be locked and opened by appointment only from now on.

He said pavilion renters would likely need to sign an agreement to open the bathrooms.

In his public works report, Supervisor David Fink said several complaints had been received about safety concerns along Memorial Road between Oriole Road and Route 309.

Fink said he had spoken with Lynn Township Supervisor Steve Feinour about the matter.

He also said Zoning Officer Dawn Didra had contacted the Lynn Township office and PennDOT to offer a letter of support and to identify a “severe safety issue” along Memorial Road.

“It’s a very bad area; there’s no shoulder,” Fink said. “Actually you can’t even use part of the road, it’s so overgrown.” He added people like to walk or bike along Memorial Road, which is very dangerous due to the lack of a shoulder.

In the engineer’s report, Chris Noll discussed a request made at a previous meeting for installing a handicap ramp, and doing sidewalk repairs on Herman Street.

Noll said the handicap spot in question was almost in the center of the block and would require around $3,000 in sidewalk replacements, as well as the installation of a handicap ramp at the end of the block.

He said the installation of a depressed curb for ADA use only in the middle of the block would be the easiest and least expensive solution with the least impact on the neighborhood.

He emphasized the depressed curb would not include or serve as a mid-block crosswalk.

During new business, Meyers asked about establishing a written policy for employees who may have been in contact with a positive case of COVID-19 or visiting a “hot spot” state, and the possibility of allowing employees to choose to take either unpaid time off or use personal time to quarantine.

Road Superintendent Kevin Huber asked about the possibility employees choose not to quarantine and instead return to work, putting other workers unfairly at risk.

Fink said employees should be following state recommendations and asked that any actions “keep us [the township] out if this.

“We don’t want to touch this,” Fink said. “Let the state handle it.”

He added any state recommendations and guidance would supersede any township rule.

Solicitor Charles Waters noted the need to quarantine would depend on the kind of travel in, or through, a hot spot state, and said the matter could not really be controlled by the township.

He added employees and others needed to be as careful as they can be.

In the end, no written policy was adopted, and Bachman said the township would just need to be flexible and allow employees to take time off without pay or use vacation days if it did not impact any critical or necessary project work.

In other matters, supervisors scheduled a preliminary budget meeting for 6:45 p.m. Nov. 19 before the scheduled November board meeting.

A motion was approved to appoint Jeffrey Kistler to the Environmental Advisory Council.

Lastly, Didra reported Lehigh County had allocated $57,912.98 to Heidelberg for COVID-19 related expenditures, and said the township needed to decide on expenses or project bids that evening to justify the funding.

The board agreed to bid out a ventilation system for the township garage, which Bachman said would cost around $50,000. Didra said the system would need to be installed and paid for by Dec. 30 to qualify for the funding.

Scheffler requested the township keep possible fire company purchases in mind as backups to claim under COVID-19 related expenditures.

Fink asked him to put together a list of safety equipment which could be justified as necessary expenses.

The next board of supervisors meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Nov. 19.