At just short of an hour, the Jan. 17 Hellertown Council meeting was fairly brief, but several topics of ongoing interest within the borough were addressed.

Sadly, Council President Thomas Rieger began the evening’s session with a moment of silence in honor of former council Vice President Gil Stauffer.

“Gil will always be remembered as a colleague who always had a positive outlook, even in the darkest of times, and I will miss his counsel and friendship,” Reiger said.

Stauffer, who passed away Jan. 11 at age 81, was first elected in 2018 and served as the Hellertown Historical Society’s treasurer. He resigned from his position on the council in September 2022, citing health issues.

In council business, borough Manager Cathy Hartranft provided an update regarding the Saucon Valley Compost Center, which has been significantly affected by the dissolution of the relationship between Hellertown and Lower Saucon Township.

Although the center’s hours and staff will be reduced, the center will still provide services like Christmas tree and yard waste disposal in February, mulch loading through the spring and summer months, and leaf disposal in the fall.

In the past, patrons were issued identification cards, with about 921 distributed to Hellertown residents and 617 to Lower Saucon residents, Hartranft said.

She suggested offering 2023 cards – still free for Hellertonians - to Lower Saucon residents at $25 each. The council unanimously approved Hartranft’s plan, as Rieger noted, “I think this will be a year of transition.”

Additionally, the borough once again discussed the heavily delayed, near-completion of the new Public Works facility at the former Reinhard School site on Northampton Street.

The department’s director, Barry Yonney, thanked the borough for their investment in the building. “It is such a pleasure [to be] up there and more organized… we really do appreciate it,” he said.

However, when it came time to pay the final invoice from Pioneer Pole Building - a $119,733 bill - Yonney and councilor Earl Hill noted a few outstanding concerns, including the intermittent failure of several automatic doors and a compressor. “If the doors aren’t working, I’m not willing to pay the bill,” Hill said.

Ultimately, the council once again chose to table the payment, contingent upon resolving their remaining issues.

Lastly, borough homeowners with delinquent sanitation bills greater than three years old should beware, as Solicitor Michael Corriere shared that a form letter is being drafted to send to affected parties. Recipients would then have 30 days to either satisfy the debt or establish a payment plan, he said.

After some discussion, the council decided that the non-responsive folks’ names, the address of the properties in question and corresponding dollar amounts will be published on the borough’s website. Further action may also include filing a case in small claims court or a visit from the Northampton County Sheriff.

In other news, an appearance from Climate Action Committee member Garrett Powell did not occur as scheduled. However, his colleague, councilor Terri Fadem, shared a few items of note on the group’s progress.

Fadem asked borough businesses and other invested parties to consider how their interests and climate action might be mutually beneficial, particularly noting ‘clean energy’ as a focal point. She also proposed that the committee host a town hall meeting on the topic shortly.