At the March 4 workshop meeting, the Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners discussed an ordinance prohibiting brake retarders. Ordinance 10-2024, if passed, will prohibit brake retarders on Mauch Chunk Road between Rural Road and Schadt Avenue.

The residents of Fellowship Community requested the ordinance due to the volume of truck traffic, which is only going to increase as warehouses proliferate throughout the Lehigh Valley, they said.

Solicitor Jack Gross proposed a $25 fee, consistent with the rest of the township’s code, while the state ordinance contains a $600 fine. The commissioners felt the fine should be raised to $250 or $300, sending a message the township is serious.

In other business, the board discussed the 2024 pool pass rates. Season pool passes for residents will cost $155 for a family, $65 for an adult and $55 for a student.

Nonresidents can pay a $10 general admission fee to access the pool 3-7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, after both the day care and Camp Whitehall leave.

Residents have expressed their concerns for years that their children have friends in Coplay who would have to pay a lot more money to use the pool often. One idea discussed would be to create a student pass, allowing both Whitehall and Coplay residents to use the pool for the same $55 rate, with the idea that Coplay might do the same.

Mayor Joseph Marx explained it is a capacity issue, especially with one working pool, and staffing concerns. The township doesn’t want to turn away residents to allow nonresidents to use the pool.

The commissioners will next meet 7 p.m. March 11 in the municipal building, 3219 MacArthur Road.