By SARIT LASCHINSKY

Special to The Press

At the beginning of the Jan. 20 South Whitehall commissioners’ meeting, board President Christina “Tori” Morgan addressed recent media reports on a lawsuit naming the township and members of its police department as defendants.

The federal lawsuit, according to published reports, was filed by a woman against a former South Whitehall Township police officer, alleging the ex-officer sexually assaulted her while she was heavily intoxicated, and then offered a bribe to cover up the act.

Morgan said the allegations pertain to a “former employee” whose employment with the township was terminated almost two years ago, and that the allegations “do not reflect on the integrity, the professionalism, and the dedication of the men and women currently employed by the South Whitehall police department, who work very hard every day to protect our residents, businesses and visitors.”

She said the allegations made against the former officer were previously reported to, and investigated by, both the state police and Lehigh County District Attorney’s office, which determined no criminal charge were warranted.

Morgan also said any claim stating the township does not exercise appropriate oversight regarding its police department, or that the department’s policies and procedures were deficient, was without merit, adding the police department is accredited by the Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission.

In other business, commissioners approved a resolution confirming individuals from Woodlawn, Greenawalds, Cetronia and Tri-Clover fire companies to serve as special fire police, each for 5-year terms.

Morgan noted fire police play important roles within the community, assisting South Whitehall police and fire companies at incidents, providing traffic control and other services, and she, Police Chief Glen Dorney and Fire Commissioner Chris Kiskeravage expressed their gratitude for their service.

Furthermore, a motion was passed to award a bid for the Kohler Ridge Park/Master Site Development Plan project to Omnes in the amount of $34,900.

Parks and Recreation Manager Mike Kukitz said the nearly 26 acres of land for the park was recently acquired, and once completed would become South Whitehall’s second largest park.

Kukitz also said half of the project price was budgeted in the current township budget, while the other half would be funded by grants from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Under old business, Township Manager Renee Bickel gave an update on the township campus renovation project, noting a transition back to the township building is expected to occur in mid-February.

She said the recent COVID-19 spikes have led to some project delays, including a project halt due to a coronavirus outbreak among workers, as well as delays with material vendors, but said work is still proceeding.

Bickel also recognized the retirement of three public works employees - George Yanochko, James Balliet and Russel Frantz.

Each served the township for more than four decades, for a combined total of 125 years.

“They will all be missed, and hopefully we can celebrate them a little more post-pandemic” Bickel said. “Three incredible gentlemen who spent their careers with South Whitehall. They are much deserving of their retirement.”

Manhardt and Bickel provided an update on the township’s credit card project and website, noting the new site is undergoing testing to ensure it can handle the payment of multiple online bills.

Manhardt said the site will become the platform for the resident self-service portal, where they can access bills and access the payment system, and also provided a more in-depth look at the site’s new pages and document-hosting capabilities.

Bickel noted there will be a fee for the use of credit cards to pay bills.

In his report, Director of Township Operations Randy Cope said an official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Covered Bridge Park playground will take place 4 p.m. May 13 and the park’s new restroom project would be looking at an installation date in late March or early April.

For the police report, Dorney said officers responded to 793 calls in December 2020, with 25 arrests made.

EMS calls were the most frequent with 212 calls.

He also announced the hiring of a new police officer, who is currently attending the Allentown Police Academy to receive Act 120 certification.

He also thanked St. Luke’s University Health Network and Lehigh Valley Health Network for providing vaccines to officers.