The Sept. 14 Alburtis Borough Council was the first meeting of the month. The meeting was highlighted by some recent updates on ongoing projects and events.

The meeting began with a comment from a resident asking for a police officer to assist with traffic at the intersection of Penn Avenue and Main Street.

There was no mayoral or police report.

Following, the previous meeting minutes, bills for payment and treasurer’s report were all approved. However, it was noted by Councilman John Aleszczyk several items in the treasurer’s report are over budget.

In the engineer’s report, it was announced work on Chestnut Street will begin in early October.

There were seven items to discuss in administration.

First, it was announced the second deposit of the American Rescue Plan Act funds was received in the amount of $138,390. The ARPA funds are for “Pennsylvania counties, cities and local governments to support COVID-19 response efforts, replace lost revenue, support economic stabilization for household businesses and address systemic public health and economic challenges.”

Several counties and boroughs are using the funds to invest in water, sewer and public infrastructure.

Next, a discussion was conducted on replacement costs for a borough utility truck. The cost for the new truck will amount to an estimated $74,000. The new truck purchase was approved in a split vote. The arrival of the completed truck is estimated to be June 2023.

The old utility truck is deteriorating and won’t last much longer, according to meeting discussion. It even has holes in the floor and you can see the road as you drive. They hope they can sell the old truck for some type of return; however, they may have to scrap it.

Truck traffic was, again, on the docket. This has been an ongoing struggle in the borough for years now. Strides are being made in policing and signage. However, due to the mix of state and local roads, the tractor trailers are still rolling heavily through town.

Mayor Kathleen Palmer asked Borough Manager Sharon Trexler to contact Lower Macungie Township to discuss adding no tractor-trailer signage near Schoeneck Road so trucks are warned about entering Alburtis. There will be news on truck signage at upcoming meetings.

There was a Halloween parade update from Councilman Hector Moss and Steve Nemeth. They stated things were going well and announced several people are helping to organize the parade. Numerous organizations in the area have agreed to participate, so the parade size is growing quickly.

The proposed route will start at Alburtis Elementary School and run all throughout the borough; however, the Ridgeview neighborhood will not be accessible due to the size of the parade. So, those residents may have to walk over to watch the parade. The council approved this proposal.

Additionally, an update on the Hometown Heroes banners was discussed. Twenty-five banners are displayed around the borough. Everyone is proud of the veterans in the area and the effort will continue to put up more.

A conversation on escrow accounts followed. Trexler went over numerous escrow accounts still sitting in wait.

In other business, the Alburtis Holiday Festival date was announced for Dec. 4.

The meeting was then adjourned.

The next meeting was scheduled Sept. 28. The address of the meeting is Alburtis Borough Hall, 260 Franklin St., Alburtis.