Hellertown Council gained a new member Aug. 2, as four applicants for the vacant seat created by the resignation of Phil Weber joined the evening’s meeting to be interviewed. Only one would ultimately be nominated for the interim term, which expires Dec. 31. Council members asked questions of each applicant, asking for opinions on topical items such as the recent Hellertown Pool controversies, among other queries.

Kevin Smith, who retired from the Pennsylvania state police as a sergeant in March and is currently employed by the Carbon-Lehigh Intermediate Unit as a school resource officer, was the first potential addition. The former Navy sailor and Army National Guardsman described himself as “relatively new to the Hellertown community,” moving to town permanently in January 2020, although he said he’d been familiar with the borough for the last five years on a “part-time basis.”

Andrew Hughes, a former interim council member who once before occupied a vacancy in 2018, was next. The corporate vice president at New York Life moved to the borough with his wife in 2016, he said, and highlighted his several certifications as an information technology security expert. A former United States Marine and chief deputy sheriff of Berks County, Hughes is also treasurer of the Hellertown Library.

Third was former council president and longtime Hellertown resident Tom Opsatnick, who said he applied because he “felt a calling to serve the people of Hellertown one more time.” Opsatnick, who was on the council between 1998 and 2007 until he was voted out of office, said although he had “no agenda, no axe to grind,” he felt there was business he left undone and wanted to leave on “(his) terms.”

Richard Weddigan, a former junior council member in 2014, was last to stand before council. Mayor David Heintzelman applauded the Northampton County EMS contractor for “coming to almost all of the meetings and being a good listener,” and council president Thomas Rieger added, “there’s some things that you’ve brought up that have improved things over the last couple of years.”

Smith admitted he has not been attending council meetings frequently, but said he has been “following updates” on them. Only he and Hughes, who said he plans to run as a Republican, indicated interest in running for the following two-year term this fall. Hughes said he views council as community service and not “a political soapbox or… stepping stone,” while Smith said he did not want to be “beholden” to any political party.

Ultimately, only Hughes saw a motion made for his appointment, and he was approved by a unanimous vote.

After Hughes was subsequently sworn in by the mayor, Rieger encouraged the three applicants who weren’t selected to apply to fill two current vacancies on the Planning Commission. Applicants for the vacancies should submit letters of interest to borough manager Cathy Hartranft by Sept. 10, according to an Aug. 3 post on the borough’s Facebook page. Rieger also pointed to other opportunities to serve the borough, such as on the Civil Service Commission. “I encourage everybody, don’t go anywhere,” he said.

In other businss, Rieger, citing recommendations from “council leadership along with our labor attorney and staff,” proposed changes to the borough COVID-19 mitigation policy due to what he called “recent virus breakthroughs in the Hellertown workforce.” Beginning Aug. 3, he said, all unvaccinated staff, visitors, vendors, guests and subcontractors would be required to wear a mask when entering Hellertown municipal building.

Borough employees who wish to remain mask-free would be required to show proof of vaccination by the morning of Aug. 5, he added. Council member James Hill was the only ‘no’ vote on the motion.