The second April meeting for Emmaus Borough Council was held April 19.

The meeting began with an announcement from Councilwoman Teri Sorg-McManamon who said the Emmaus Farmers Market will open 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 2. The farmers market will be held Sundays through November.

A special presentation was given by Alan Sylvestre, who heads the Emmaus Recreation and Entertainment Commission. The Emmaus Main Street Partners, Emmaus Arts Commission and the Recreation and Entertainment Commission have come together to form a summer events partnership.

He provided a list of the events for this upcoming summer. There will be concerts on Sundays starting June 6 at Emmaus Community Park. They will be held 6 to 9 p.m. There will also be ‘Tunes in the Triangle’ occurring Fridays. The start date is June 11.

Numerous sponsors and donors have contributed to get these events going for this summer.

Several council members thanked Sylvestre and the small team on the committee for their work. Borough Manager Shane Pepe mentioned they need to work through the social distancing guidelines and other small details.

Following the special presentation, it was announced a Community Development Block Grant project for curb and sidewalk bids and tabulation was awarded to Zgura’s Concrete Services for $59,490.60.

In communications, a letter was put forth to disband the solicitor services between the borough and the borough’s solicitor firm of Dimmich and Dinkelacker P.C. Attorney Jeffrey R. Dimmich is semi-retiring and his firm will be dissolving. Attorney Thomas H. Dinkelacker is joining another firm.

An executive session was held regarding Dimmich’s legal counsel with the borough.

Mayor Lee Ann Gilbert made two proclamations in her report. Proclamation 2021-505 announced Arbor Day is April 30. She read about the benefits of tree planting and the borough’s commitment to forestry.

Proclamation 2021-506 announced the 75th anniversary of the Emmaus Jewel Shop. Gilbert recognized the shop’s history in the community and the amount of jewelry and wedding rings walking around Emmaus from the shop.

Councilman Chad Balliet heads the health, sanitation and codes committee and requested approval for a zoning ordinance consultant request for proposal. The committee worked with the planning commission to put together the RFP for the updates to the zoning ordinance.

In public safety, Councilman John Hart presented a few items. Of note, he said the second ambulance has been pulled from operation for the time being. Locally, fires have gone down, but the number of calls to EMS has gone up.

Hart presented on an EMS grant application for cardiac monitors. The current models are well over the seven year expected life span. This application was approved by council.

Next, Hart moved onto a presentation for engine lettering and striping for an Emmaus fire truck. He showed the design plans for the truck, which will be a white truck with reflective striping in Emmaus’ signature green and yellow. Pepe and council President Brent Labenberg were incredibly happy with the design work.

Labenberg announced Resolution 2021-19, which is the disposal of municipal records. Labenberg talked about the leadership of Pepe in going through the large backup of records. Pepe and a small team have gone through a mass number of unnecessary documents dating decades back. “This includes sewer receipts dating back to 1989,” Pepe said.

Junior Councilman Jonas Hausmann announced there will be two graduation sessions for Emmaus High School. They will take place 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. June 13. Tickets should be purchased electronically and need to be bought two weeks prior. Hausmann stated only four tickets can be purchased per family.

In the borough manager’s report, Pepe got quick approval for the retention of Master Firefighter Eric Gopen. Pepe said Gopen did a great job in his probationary period.

Next, electricity rates were discussed. There were 11 bidders. Freepoint Energy Solutions had many of the lowest bids. IGS Energy sent a separate proposal with different lengths but had comparable pricing depending on the length of the plan. Pepe recommended going with IGS rates for 40 months.

Councilman Chris DeFrain made a motion to go with IGS. In discussion, DeFrain said this is a long-term fix for a forecast rise in electrical rates. The rates will be great in the long run for keeping prices reasonable. This was approved by council.

In a quick statement, James Yocum was announced as the new group leader for the public works department.

An executive session was called for legal and personnel discussions. A motion was made to request a proposal for a solicitor. In the first meeting in May, council will discuss finding a new solicitor.

The next Emmaus Borough Council meeting will be held 7 p.m. May 3. It will be held in person at borough hall, 28 S. Fourth St., Emmaus. However, a Zoom link will be available for those wishing to attend virtually

Additionally, a public meeting on the possible remodeling of the borough buildings will be held 6 p.m. April 28. The meeting will take place through Zoom and a link can be found on the calendar page on the borough website.