Alburtis Borough Council met Oct. 12 where two ordinances passed and another update on the Halloween Parade was discussed.

The meeting began without public comment and quickly moved to the reports section of the meeting.

There was no report from Mayor Kathleen Palmer.

Alburtis Police Chief Tony Alsleben was in attendance for the police report. He said there are 11 active recruits who are looking to join the Alburtis Police Department. Borough Manager Sharon Trexler will pass this to the civil service board so preliminary interviews can be set up.

Following this, Council President Ron DeIaco said progress is being made on the Chestnut Circle project. This is to fix the stormwater retention in that area.

Next, the Pension State Aid plan was approved without discussion. The borough received $72,526.32 from the commonwealth for general municipal pension system state aid. Most will be deposited into the police pension plan.

The bills for payment, treasurer’s report and engineer’s report were then approved. Of note, there were 16 calls to Alburtis in the Macungie Ambulance Corps report. There are usually only one to five calls.

The meeting then moved to administration.

Pastor Jeff Whitcomb was in attendance to talk about Lockridge Historical Church. He recently moved into the Lockridge neighborhood and said he would love to start a congregation at the Lockridge Historical Church. He proposed starting on Christmas Eve and then would run weekly gatherings following. An issue arose because of safety compliances that need to be met. The church would need a ramp installed, but council members were concerned about the cost against the budget.

The building is simply sitting there, mostly unused, and is only used for the historical society and for the occasional wedding. It can be rented from the borough as well.

The council was not opposed to Whitcomb’s offer, but more budget and compliance discussions needed to be had that could not be figured out during the council meeting. Council asked Whitcomb to attend the following meeting.

Donations for the church are open to the public and residents can call the borough building to get more information on how to donate.

Next was the passing of borough Ordinances No. 574 and No. 575.

Ordinance No. 574 was “an ordinance requiring the waiver, under certain circumstances, of additional charges for the late payment of real estate taxes by property owners who recently acquired their property and did not receive a tax notice, as required by Act 57 of 2022.”

Ordinance No. 575 was “an ordinance prohibiting vehicles longer than 35 feet on Church Street between Franklin Street and Scenic View Drive (except local deliveries).”

Following this was an update on the Alburtis Halloween Parade led by council’s Second Vice President Hector Moss. There are currently 35 organizations who have sent in forms to participate. Alburtis and Lower Macungie fire police have confirmed they will help with safety.

Additionally, it was noted by the police chief all vehicles need to be off the parade route by 3 p.m. They have also received confirmation about parking all over the borough. This includes Lockridge Park, the fire company, a local fitness studio lot and more. There will be a possible 14 food trucks in attendance.

The Halloween parade is scheduled 7 p.m. Oct. 29.

The next Alburtis Borough Council meeting will take place 7 p.m. Oct. 26 at 260 Franklin St.