Emmaus Borough Council met Aug. 21 to discuss a wide range of community matters and legislative proposals in its monthly session. The meeting, held at the temporary borough offices, touched on matters ranging from civic recognition to parking regulations.

In personal appeals, there was concern about weekly grass pickup and parking restrictions near the high school. No action was taken.

Mayor Lee Ann Gilbert thanked those who attended recent local events with other council members in agreement.

This was followed by special presentations, with the highlight being the recognition and honoring of the local firefighters and EMS teams with the Unit Citation Award. Just recently, the Emmaus Fire Department responded to a fire at an apartment complex where residents were trapped in their third floor apartments. The fire was eventually extinguished without the loss of life. There were two civilian smoke injuries and one firefighter injury.

Emmaus Fire Chief John Price shared the details and thanked the efforts of those first on-scene. This included Captain Troy Raab, Master Firefighter Jason Jesmain, FF2/EMT Jared Tellechea, Paramedic Bryan Nelson and Advanced EMT Laurie Barry. They all were individually recognized.

Council’s decisions on various bids included the full depth reclamation road project. Recon Construction Services was awarded the bid for $246,018.35.

The communications portion of the meeting included several noteworthy items, such as an event request for the upcoming Halloween parade and a request from the Emmaus Lioness/Lions Club for their scarf shower event. The Halloween parade is scheduled 9 a.m. Oct. 21. The scarf shower will take place 9 a.m. Nov. 4 at the Emmaus Triangle.

The council also received a letter of appreciation from the Emmaus Historical Society for items donated by the borough. Additionally, the resignation of an employee from the Ambulance Corps was announced.

During unfinished business, Part I, council discussed Ordinance 1245, focusing on establishing floodplain areas within the borough. The ordinance’s second reading was scheduled for this meeting.

In new business, two ordinances were introduced for their first readings:

Ordinance No. 1246: An amendment to the borough’s parking regulations was proposed. There will be updated parking restrictions surrounding the newly renovated borough hall building. There will be no public parking allowed behind borough hall.

Ordinance No. 1247: This ordinance aims to add a residential disabled parking sign and allocate a permitted parking space in front of 629 Walnut St.

The council then transitioned into unfinished business, Part II, and took time to address any items not on the agenda as per Rule 9. The reclamation project bid was added to the agenda due to a prior timing issue.

In public works, Councilman Chad Balliet said the department would not retain two probationary employees. There was no action to be taken.

The parks and recreation committee report showed the removal of a recreation and entertainment commission member and contained notes from the Aug. 1 meeting.

The public safety committee presented the second-quarter reports from the police, fire and EMS departments. It was noted the EMS transport service usage has increased. Councilman John Hart said he was told since the department has more people working, they can get to more people.

Gannet Flemming was hired for the design phase for the PFAS [polyfluoroalkyl substances] remediation.

The budget and finance committee discussed the second-quarter 2023 budget performance report and Resolution 2023-23: bill list, sharing significant revenue and expenses for July. The bill list totaled $1,902,248.84.

The borough manager’s report was highlighted by the hiring of part-time EMT Ryan Malik and Auxiliary Police Officer Jerald Brown Jr.

The meeting was then adjourned. The next Emmaus Borough Council meeting will take place 6 p.m. Sept. 5.