The March 9 Alburtis Borough Council meeting began with a statement from Council President Ronald DeIaco about the war between Russia and Ukraine. He said Alburtis is collecting donations from the community for the people of Ukraine.

There was no public comment during the night.

Mayor Kathleen Palmer issued the oath of office to newly appointed Alburtis Chief of Police Tony Alsleben. His family, the former Chief of Police Robert Palmer and Sheriff Joseph Hanna were in attendance.

“We’re moving in the right direction,” Kathleen Palmer said with a smile.

Following her report, the previous meeting minutes and bills for payment were approved.

There were nine reported calls to the Macungie Ambulance Corps from Alburtis.

During the engineer’s report, Councilman John Aleczyznk asked why Ott Consulting was out surveying projects already out for bid. Since they are out for bid, he said the survey work should already be completed and no one should be surveying anymore. There was no answer for why the surveys were occurring.

In administration, Ordinance No. 571 and No. 572 were approved by the council.

Ordinance No. 571 accepts “the dedication of and opening of Church Street, Scenic View Drive, Racite Road and Sept Road in the subdivision known as the ‘Hills at Lock Ridge-West,’ amending provisions of keys and access codes for entry to borough hall and amending codified ordinance to set the chief of police rates and vacation days.”

Ordinance No. 572 prohibits “parking on the westerly side of South Main Street in a zone extending from the southern curb line of Front Street toward the south for a distance of 45 feet and limiting parking to a duration of 10 minutes on the westerly side of South Main Street in a zone extending from the point 45 feet south of the southern curb line of Front Street toward the south for a distance of 44 feet.”

Daniel Huff was in attendance to represent the Alburtis Elementary School PTO to announce a cornhole tournament. The event will take place April 9 at the elementary school. Registration begins 10 a.m. and the event should begin noon. They are holding this fundraising event to raise money for a new school playground. He asked for Walnut Street near the ball field to become a one-way for the day to avoid cross-traffic issues. This was approved.

“There’s going to be a lot of kids running around,” Huff said. He also mentioned there will be a dedicated lot attendant to maintain security. There will be expanded parking for the event; however, he is hoping people can just walk to attend.

It was announced Vanessa Taggart will be resigning from Alburtis Borough Council because she will be moving out of state. DeIaco said it was sad to see her go. A new council member will need to be appointed soon.

The Liquid Fuels allocation for 2022 amounted to just over $64,893.

The last item was a donation from the William B. Butz Memorial Fund. The directors of the fund contributed $2,500 to the Borough of Alburtis.

The next Alburtis Borough Council meeting will be held 7 p.m. March 30 at 260 Franklin St.