Lehigh County Executive Phillips Armstrong addressed Hanover Township, Lehigh County, Council at its March 5 meeting. When elected, Armstrong said he would visit every municipality in Lehigh County each year. He is currently in the final year of his last term.

“I am here to say thank you to Hanover Township for their cooperation the past seven-and-a-half years,” Armstrong said.

He reported he appointed a developer for a planned motel project near the municipal building.

Armstrong explained he was in Washington, D.C., recently and said “everything is on the table” regarding possible cuts.

He noted the 1913 Tax Act that started federal income tax included tax-free municipal bonds. Municipal bonds are key to successfully funding governmental improvements and projects’ development. Armstrong said the current federal government wants to eliminate the tax-free status of municipal bonds. Losing the tax-free status will put downward pressure and less interest on investors buying municipal bonds, noted Armstrong.

Armstrong urged Hanover to speak to elected federal representatives to not eliminate the tax-free status of municipal bonds.

The topic of first responder radios was raised by Armstrong. He noted that during 2026, the county must go forward with digital radios and municipalities must budget for the new radios. They cost about $7,000 each. He added the more radios purchased through the county, the lower the cost can be.

Township Manager Melissa Wehr said the fire department was contacted about how many digital radios they will need, and she is waiting for its response.

His final topic was the efforts to improve and expand the Rails to Trails effort, which is a cooperative movement between numerous municipalities and state and federal governments. The trail will run from the Poconos to Philadelphia. Eventually, the Freedom Trail being developed will run from Washington, D.C., to New York City.

Armstrong added he expects, as a former leader of the National County Executives Association, to remain involved with that group.

Council thanked Armstrong for his dedicated work serving as the Lehigh County executive and wished him well with future endeavors.

”You put your heart and soul in your executive position,” council Chairman Bruce Paulus said. “I wish you well.”

In other business, Paul Mack, of Campbell, Rappold and Yurasits LLP, certified public accountants, provided council an update on township financial statements. He said all financial reports are complete and the financial statements received a “clean opinion,” the highest level of quality, with no issues and no deficiencies.

Wehr said the township credit card to pay utilities and avoid a late charge needs to be changed from a business card to a corporate card.

Council received two D&L Trail updates from the trail’s design professional and a D&L representative. The presentation detailed the needs for two easements to permit the trail to run through private property. The total project costs range from $130,000 to $210,000, based on which of three possible plans are picked. The project is nearly entirely grant funded. No action was needed now, but council, by consensus, agreed to move the project forward.

An ordinance to clear up the communication from the township manager and the administration team to inform council when they purchase an item with a large cost was introduced. After much discussion, it was decided to draft a policy with the goal to make council aware of large purchases by administration before the purchase takes place.

The next Hanover Township, Lehigh County, Council meeting is set for 7 p.m. March 19 at the township municipal building, 2202 Grove Road. Visit hanleco.org to review the meeting’s agenda.