Macungie Borough Council will consider the best way to approach long-term projects on the borough's to-do list and how best to finance them.

This is in full knowledge the borough will be incurring debt, said President Chris Becker, with the intention of paying the costs of capital projects. In total some $1.1 million needs financing and Becker started the discussion rolling at the Feb. 19 council meeting by listing the pros and cons of a bond or a conventional loan.

Top on the list is Lumber Street, the recent hot topic of discussion months ago when council determined to reconstruct the street for the installation of the new Devine School. Becker reminded council of its initial agreement with the Devines, also noting the agreement could still be negated. Currently their end of the deal is $250,000 which needs to be financed. The borough has already received some funding from the Devines, also as agreed.

Along with this comes Cotton Street, which Becker said may require some engineering and construction work, including curb, sidewalk and storm drain work. The estimated cost of the project is $300,000.

The borough water authority has also asked to refinance existing debt of over $240,000. In addition there is talk of a light at Church Street which would probably require a traffic study, Becker said.

But these projects are still very much in the planning stage; Becker assured everyone the numbers he gave were only estimates, but urged the importance of beginning to consider financing options, saying it would not be necessary to use all funds obtained from financing. Rather projects have to be financed for less than their projected lifespan (in the case of some of these, 10 to 20 year minimum, according to Joe Sikorski).

Becker wants to look into financing as soon as possible, while interest rates are comparatively low. Sikorski, who works for a bank, backed him up, estimating in a couple of years interest rates may more than double from the possible rates of 2 to 5 percent the borough might expect on its bond or loans.

In the case of a loan, the borough would pay less in initial fees but more in interest and the rate isn't guaranteed. After five to seven years, the interest rate would go up. With a bond, the initial fee is much greater but the rates are guaranteed. Becker mentioned a loan might be the better path to take, and recommended using Valco to issue an RFP and initiate the process. Sikorski agreed a loan was "more appealing."

The Lumber Street project in particular is time sensitive. Borough Manager Chris Boehm pointed out the borough needs the reimbursement from financing to move forward with reconstructing the unopened street.

More talk of roads followed, as Becker continued to pursue research on resurfacing some of the roads in the borough. Becker reviewed the borough streets with a PennDOT representative who called them "in fairly good shape if not good shape," which Becker called high praise from someone in his position.

The borough is looking for alternatives on how to pave streets, methods which will last longer and hold up against the demands of the borough's population and traffic patterns. Parts of Hill and Hickory streets are scheduled for resurfacing this year, and other roads are already planned for the next two years.

Becker recommended a double application seal coating consisting of 80 pounds of aggregate microseal with another coating of a product called FiberMat. The latter "goes in like tar and stone," Becker said, but with a mesh fabric in it that holds the material together and absorbs vibration to prevent the material breaking apart. But Becker pointed out FiberMat is dirty and produces loose debris that could be problematic. FiberMat costs $4 per square yard and is projected to last around 10 years. The double coating microseal costs $2.50 per square yard and may last six years.

The microseal coating is popular among boroughs, Becker said, and approved by PennDOT for liquid fuel funds applications. PennDOT will also write the RFP, saving the borough money normally paid to the solicitor for the same task.

Sikorski also noted council needs to consider how each option might be best suited to roads with multiple openings or the possibility of future openings. This is particularly in the case of FiberMat which would tear apart if a new road opening was made and lose its "cohesiveness," as Boehm put it.

Concerns continue about Mayor Rick Hoffman and the most recent installation of GPS units in three police cars. Business owner Tim Romig brought forward copies of the grant Hoffman applied for from Walmart, the contract and check issued by the same, the borough's check to Wiarcom, Inc. (which supplied the GPS units), and a receipt from the borough dated Aug. 20 (no year) for $1,000. The check stub from Walmart was dated Aug. 13. The grant application was not dated.

Romig questioned when the mayor had received the grant from Walmart as Hoffman had attempted to obtain permission from council for GPS units last spring and been denied. Romig asserted Hoffman had publicly dropped the subject but had finally obtained permission in January, signing the contract Jan. 8 four days after receiving it from Walmart Jan. 4. The application and the contract did not appear on the council agenda until Jan. 7. The mayor brought up his request during his report to council.

Romig also questioned council whether the software for monitoring the GPS units had been installed on borough computers or on Hoffman's personal computer, and if the former, whether borough employees could download information from the software onto their own computers.

The price quoted to Hoffman from Advanced Tracking Technologies was $1,407.90, including three units, activation charges per unit and monitoring service for a year.