Alburtis Borough Council met Dec. 14 to discuss budget news, upcoming grants and holiday announcements.

The meeting began without public comment. Mayor Kathleen Palmer and Police Chief Tony Alsleben were not in attendance to provide a report for the night.

The meeting minutes of Nov. 30, the bills for payment and the treasurer’s report were all quickly approved without discussion. The bills for payment totaled $98,951.98. A 2022 Ford utility truck purchase covered nearly half of the amount.

The engineer’s report was also approved. There were 14 projects in the report, with many still in preliminary stages. The report highlighted progress made toward grants and infrastructure projects. The majority deal with sewer improvements and drainage/water management. Well access improvements were just recently completed.

Following reports, the meeting moved to administration. There were seven items.

First, the council discussed the 2023 budget. The fire department was a point of conversation as a line-item change was needed in the budget. It was a simple fix. After this, Borough Manager Sharon Trexler said the budget was ready. The budget was then approved to be advertised. Residents can search for it through the Alburtis Borough website. There will be no increase in local taxes.

The second item was approved to advertise the 2023 meetings for the borough council and committees.

The railroad crossing at West Penn Avenue was then reviewed. Local workers in that area wanted to see if closing this crossing could be an option. The council disagreed due to the limited amount of access to the borough already. However, other crossings may be considered at later meetings.

The next item was the approval of Resolution No. 2022-9.

Resolution No. 2022-9 authorizes Trexler to execute all documents and agreements between the borough and the PA Commonwealth Financing Authority in helping to obtain a COVID-19 American Rescue Plan Act Small Water and Sewer Grant in the amount of $311,442.

This will be used for “rehabilitation and improvements of Alburtis Borough’s water transmission and distribution system.” A pressure-reducing valve needs to be reconstructed near Mountain Road and the project will be costly.

Following the approval of the grant application, Councilman Hector Moss brought forward the motion to establish a special events committee. He said the committee is already structured and has plans moving forward.

This was approved by the council. The special events committee is already planning a summer event, similar to the Winter Holiday Festival, with a preliminary date of June 17, 2023.

The last item was a discussion of a borough staff get-together – the first in-person since the pandemic began. Council approved this as well.

The meeting was then adjourned. The next borough meeting will be 7 p.m. Dec. 28.