In a Catasauqua Borough Council session Monday, where council again debated the FL Smidth land purchase, residents packed council chambers to express their support for purchasing property along Front Street, although a proposal to buy had been voted down 4-3 at the May 20 council meeting.

The proposal would have the borough buy the land without any guarantee that it could find a developer to make improvements to the land not used by the borough for municipal buildings.

Solicitor Jeffery Dimmich explained the borough could make the required purchase and own the land, but it could not act as a developer. The potential exists that the borough could be stuck with a piece of property that no one wants to develop.

Councilman Vincent Smith argued although it's possible, that scenario has a very low probability.

"There are developers out there that want to work with us," he said. "Weston, even though they can't get funding for the land purchase, is willing to work with us. They know developers that are anxious to work on this project."

As the often-repeated arguments continued, their intensity became more heated.

Council President Brian Bartholomew called for another vote on the purchase, but the result was again 4-3.

Borough Police Chief Douglas Kish was joined by Catasauqua Fire Chief Richard Hertzog in asking council to take action to relieve the problems that both organizations face in developing effective organizations to meet safety requirements for the borough.

Hertzog asked that council provide the department with the physical facility that he needs to carry out his task of keeping the community safe.

Emergency Management Coordinator Joe Carl questioned the logic of asking safety personnel to perform their duties with equipment that was severely outdated and could jeopardize the ability of the borough to meet safety standards.

Even after the council vote, proponents of the purchase pounded away at council members demanding they explain their alternative plans. The opposition, Council President Brian Bartholomew, Councilmen Al Regits and Eugene Schlegel and Councilwoman Mitzi Smith, were unable to present any alternatives.

Although Bartholomew chastised the tactics used, alluding to comments made on Facebook, the gallery shouted him down, contending the comments are part of the political process.

Councilman Eugene Schlegel asked for an executive session to discuss options.

"We need to work cooperatively to get this done," he said.

Dimmich cautioned council that an executive session must include discussion of issues that are private in nature. He also said if the decision is not any different after the discussions in executive session, there would be no point in holding another special meeting.

After a two-hour executive session, council elected to hold a special meeting Wednesday June 12 at 6:30 p.m., to vote again on the purchase. Based on Dimmich's comments, the scheduling of this meeting could be signaling a change of vote by one or more council members.

Resident Robynn Shannon's comment after the meeting summed up the attitude of many who attended.

"We are not going to give up on this," she said.