During North Catasauqua Borough Council’s Jan. 18 meeting, council members passed a motion to accept a waste removal contract from J.P. Mascaro & Sons.

The 59-month contract comes at the cost of $1,812,196 and will continue curbside pickup for solid waste and recycling for residents.

In other news, council President Peter Paone thanked the head of North Catasauqua Betterment Committee, Marc Hillenbrand, for a donation his organization made to North Catasauqua Police Department to purchase BolaWrap weapons in November of 2020.

BolaWrap is a nonlethal police weapon that fires a Kevlar cord, designed to ensnare and trip assailants, so they can be detained safely. Police Chief Chris Wolfer purchased two BolaWrap weapons and had several officers trained to use them as part of his efforts to add more nonlethal response options to the police department.

As a result of these efforts, Paone said the borough’s cost to insure the police department has gone down for 2021.

Borough council accepted a $7,950 proposal from Dave Kutzor of Keystone Engineering to rehabilitate a number of manhole shafts. The liners of the manholes have been found to let in groundwater, which adds to the amount of water passing through the borough’s sewers and into Catasauqua for processing, thus increasing North Catasauqua’s bill.

Mayor William Molchany announced Whitehall Area Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual meeting May 20 at North Catasauqua William J. Albert Memorial Park.

River Central, the collective title for five municipalities forming a multimunicipal comprehensive plan, held a virtual kick-off meeting Jan. 12. The group includes Catasauqua, North Catasauqua and Northampton boroughs, East Allen Township and Hanover Township, Lehigh County. During the meeting, Brent Green of East Allen Township was named chair, Steve Travers of Catasauqua was named vice chair and Paone was named secretary.

Paone explained the formation of the comprehensive plan will require a lot of input from the community. River Central administrators will hold a series of virtual events in February and April.

Wolfer reported the right front door of one of the police cruisers was damaged and the side mirror was destroyed. An officer sideswiped the vehicle on his way out of the car port while responding to an emergency call.

Wolfer asked council for permission to add a third 32-hour-per-week officer to the force. Reportedly, the police department has had an excess of calls and emergencies to respond to, leaving few officers available for standard patrol.

“It’s getting to a point where it’s dangerous,” Wolfer said. “We’re getting an arrest every day.”

Council approved the hiring of another officer for as long as necessary. Wolfer said within three months, current officer Brian Douglas should be ready to be made a full-time officer, returning the force to having only two 32-hour officers and further increasing their manpower.