By MICHAEL HIRSCH

Special to The Press

South Whitehall’s commissioners meeting on Jan. 19 began with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Board President Diane Kelly.

Then, Director of Operations Randy Cope said there would be a shift in the agenda, and the “courtesy of the floor” for non-agenda items was moved to the top.

Later, Commissioner Brad Osborne thanked Kelly.

He mentioned the courtesy of the floor repositioning and called it a positive change.

“By giving residents an additional opportunity to say what they’d like to say,” he explained.

He suggested a second courtesy of the floor at the end of the meeting, in addition to the one in the beginning.

“ ... just in case a resident or someone online has a thought that occurs during the course of the meeting,” he explained.

Brian Hite spoke first.

“I’m here to thank the South Whitehall Township Police Department,” Hite said. “Specifically, I reported to police last week about speeding issues we were having to do with the warehouses on Eck Road.

“The officer was there the very next day. There was a speed limit board and that’s money well spent. Speeds drastically dropped.

“I know, an officer can’t be there all the time. But those speed boards can be there for a week or two. It really reinforces what the speed limit is.

“I can’t thank you guys, enough. Neighbors, thank you. It was getting a little out of control. It’s just an awareness tool. And, in the future when that kind of technology comes across your budget, remember, it’s money well spent. Thank you.”

The second resident to speak was Dave Torrey.

“I want to thank the board for accepting the farmland on Springhouse [Road],” Torrey said. “It’s nice to see that preserved as is.”

Next, the board approved several resolutions.

The first was appointing Herbein and Company as township auditor for year 2021.

Next, commissioners appointed a liaison between the township and Berkheimer, the tax collector for the district.

Assistant Finance Director Tricia Dickert will serve as liaison.

Commissioners then granted preliminary/final approval for the Kratzer Elementary School 18,000-square-foot addition at the back of the existing building.

In addition, they granted preliminary/final approval to Long’s Water Technology, 1567 Hausman Road, for a 5,600-square-foot commercial building,

The last resolution dealt with the entry-level position of a patrol officer.

“This is just the process in which we need to adopt the Civil Service list, which was, in fact, certified by the Civil Service Commission last week,” Police Chief Glen Dorney explained. ”I’m asking for the board of commissioners to adopt that list so we can move forward with the hiring process.”

A motion was made and approved to proceed with the adoption of the entire Civil Service eligibility list for patrol officer for the police department.

Commissioners Kelly and Michael Wolk were appointed to the Budget, Finance and Audit Subcommittee and there was a motion to appoint Commissioners David Kennedy and Kelly to the Fire Services Committee.

“There will be some new committees being formed in the near future that will afford opportunity for other commissioners, as well, to serve on so please stay tuned for that,” Kelly said.

A motion was made to proceed with vehicle purchases for public works, and the police and fire departments.

All were approved.

Wolk thanked Public Works Manager Herb Bender, who explained all the vehicle purchases that were required.

“I will point out as I always do. This is a snapshot of what Herb does,” Wolk said. “He manages the life cycle of all of these extremely expensive assets, then puts in a lot of thinking into the exact time line of that need to be replaced in order to optimize the cost for the township.

“So, thank you.”