After a year’s worth of well-publicized turmoil, the brief Jan. 3 meeting of Hellertown Council saw the official termination of the borough’s municipal ties with neighboring Lower Saucon Township.

As 2023’s first session, Council President Thomas Rieger clarified that the otherwise “short housekeeping meeting” involved no reorganization elements, as no new council members were to be seated in the wake of a non-election year for the body.

Three ordinances, discussed at length on Dec. 12, were unanimously approved with no objections. The measures addressed separate agreements regarding the Saucon Valley Compost Center, Hellertown Pool and Saucon Valley Partnership (which also included the Saucon Valley School District).

Notably, the commencement of the new year also marked the cessation of the Hellertown Area Library’s services to Lower Saucon residents, stemming from a related dispute over funding.

In other business, solicitor Michael Corriere informed the council that a previously-discussed new ordinance, slated to allow the police department more freedom in determining zoning and signage for two-hour parking spaces, will be drafted in time for the Jan. 17 meeting.

Rieger further, in a “plea to the public,” asked for interested residents to apply for a vacancy on the Zoning Hearing Board. Parties interested in the five-year term should email borough Manager Cathy Hartranft. Otherwise, “everything else pretty much stays [the same]” from 2022, he said.