During the hearing of persons present agenda item at the Sept. 16 Catasauqua Borough Council meeting, Sean O’Boyle, a resident and member of the Civil Service Commission, shared his concerns and confusion about the process of finding a new police chief.

“I’ve had countless conversations with the potential chief over contracts, over what was expected, all sorts of things that were just basically thrown at him, not part of the application process,” O’Boyle mentioned.

At an Aug. 5 special council meeting, Ray Anthony was selected as council’s choice for the new chief. Council originally sent Anthony’s nomination to the Civil Service Commission.

Borough Solicitor Charles Smith made sure to clarify that Anthony was never made an offer for the position, just nominated.

“Terms were not presented to him,” Smith said. “He withdrew his application.”

O’Boyle asked what the plan is and where the process is going from here.

During the time of Anthony’s nomination, there were changes being made to the standards and requirements for the commission. Since these new standards were not clear to Anthony at the time, he has since asked to go with a contract through council instead of going through the commission. This action caused a delay in the proceedings since the nomination was already sent to the commission.

During a special meeting Sept. 3, council President Howard Cunningham made a motion to rescind the Aug. 5 vote sending Anthony’s nomination to the commission. The motion passed unanimously.

According to O’Boyle, he has had numerous conversations with Anthony about his frustration with the process. To further complicate matters, Anthony already served the borough as the emergency management coordinator, fire marshal, fire code official and part-time police officer.

O’Boyle said the borough is in danger of losing Anthony, leaving these roles open.

“What’s your rush?” Cunningham asked.

O’Boyle said he was worried about the strain being down a chief and personnel might be taking on the department. Borough Manager Glenn Eckhart said the department is doing fine, and for the first time since he started working in the borough, all departments are coming in under budget.

Mayor Barbara Schlegel mentioned they are working to move the process along to fill the vacant role.

Later in the meeting, Councilwoman Virginia Schlegel made a motion to send a nomination for John Wiseman to be appointed as the police chief to the commission. Wiseman has been serving as the officer in charge since the former police chief’s retirement in February.

The motion passed with a vote of six yeses and one abstention. Cunningham reported he abstained based off confidential information he received.

O’Boyle reported they would work to set up a meeting with the commission and Wiseman to begin the process on their end.

In other business, Barbara Schlegel read a proclamation acknowledging September 2024 as Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month and Sept. 16 as Suicide Awareness and Prevention Day in the borough. The official proclamation notes suicide is a public health concern and efforts to reduce suicide are important to the community.

She also said she received a request for a youth community service project to add a blessing box on 14th Street. More information is expected in the near future.

The manager’s report included a water and sewer budget review.

“We got it down to a 65% increase in water rates, which is still extremely high,” Eckhart said, noting they need to pay back the sewer fund.

He reported $479,559.38 is due to the sewer fund and $18,136.77 is due to the sewer collections fund.

Eckhart reiterated the “water department is in bad shape,” and the sewer plant needs to be paid back and corrected as soon as possible.

“It is staggering how underwater our water department is,” Eckhart said.

The borrowing happened over the course of a few years to keep the borough up and running, but it needs to be paid back.

He noted they stripped out capital projects from the budget that aren’t absolutely needed and don’t have grant money. He added they are looking to pass the final budget in October or November at the latest.

The engineer report featured a number of approvals.

Council approved two change orders for the water interconnect replacement project. The first was $58,127 to install a Department of Environmental Protection-required bypass piping. Since the project was grant funded, the engineers will reach out to the grant-funding entity for reimbursement. The second change order was for an adjustment to a connection based off information discovered while excavating. This change comes at no cost to the borough.

A payment certificate was approved for the same project. Work was completed in accordance with the contract, as inspected by Remington and Vernick, so council approved the payment of $259,210.98 to Barrasso Excavating Inc.

A change order for the Race Street parking lot project was approved. Due to a price reduction based off supplies availability, $28.90 is going back to the borough.

Council also approved two payment certificates for the Race Street project. Work was completed and inspected by the engineers, so it was recommended to approve $192,735.88 and $86,323.67 to Grace Industries.

Additionally, council approved a change order for the Walnut Street stormwater culvert improvement project to allow for a 21-day extension to install an Americans With Disabilities Act-compliant ramp railing. They are waiting on supplies to be delivered.

Alice Wanamaker, D&L National Heritage Corridor economic development manager, addressed council to introduce the trail-friendly business program, which welcomes trail users to come off the trail and into local businesses.

The program is free for businesses and includes marketing opportunities. She noted no Catasauqua businesses are yet involved.

Wanamaker also reported the program has open opportunities for funding for items like bike racks, water fountains and more.

In related news, Councilwoman Kim Brubaker reported the connection of the D&L Trail across Race Street and the Catasauqua Creek will be incorporated into Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s Race and Lehigh streets project.

Brubaker also read a letter she received from a resident saying tax increases are putting a strain on residents. The resident also noted it’s a concern the higher tax rate is “solving one problem by creating another.” The resident worries the area is being pushed into a “renter’s market” since properties with higher taxes sit on the market and have less buyers.

Councilwoman Tara Nicholas reported the River Central Multimunicipal Comprehensive Plan Committee is discussing existing zoning maps between the participating municipalities — Catasauqua, North Catasauqua and Northampton boroughs and East Allen and Hanover (Lehigh County) townships.

Nicholas also reported there are still vacancies on the zoning hearing board and planning commission.

It was also noted there are vacancies on the borough authority.

The next borough council business meeting will be held 7 p.m. Oct. 21 at the municipal complex, 90 Bridge St.