Gary Cordner, current candidate for the mayoralty of Macungie Borough, was appointed as interim mayor by vote July 15 at the Macungie Institute via Skype.

Cordner's appointment is in response to the resignation of Rickie Hoffman, effective this month. Cordner will serve as interim mayor until Dec. 31, when the elected candidate will then assume office.

Cordner communicated with council from Ukraine over a fuzzy Skype connection. The time change wasn't considered an issue, except perhaps for Cordner, who stayed up into the wee hours to accept his appointment to office. It only took slightly longer when the computer shut down unexpectedly and then connection issues caused further delays. In the end, Cordner could see council but they couldn't see him.

The new mayor will be sworn in publicly at a later date.

Also appearing for office was Doris Horner, a former long-term employee of the borough, who advocated for more of a "holding pattern" for the remaining months of the mayoral term than for any kind of major changes. "The interim position is the time to build confidence between the mayor and the police department and everyone else," Horner said.

Alongside Horner sat Ronald Conrad, who is running against Cordner in the election this year. In a brief speech, Conrad asked council appoint Horner rather than playing political games or risking the possibility of providing one candidate over another with an advantage in the running by appointing him to the position before the election.

Councilwoman Jean Nagle moved for Horner's appointment but her motion died for lack of a second. It was Debra Cope, seconded by Joe Sikorski, who moved for Cordner's appointment.

"We have a responsibility to pick a candidate who is right for the position," Cope said, noting Cordner's educational and professional accomplishments and arguing names on a ballot should not be the reason behind their choice.

Cordner has worked closely with police departments in the past. His CV includes stints as an officer and a police chief in two different precincts in Maryland. He has also served as dean at a university and currently teaches in the criminal justice department at Kutztown University.

Cordner assured council his day job would not in any way interfere with his duties as mayor, stating he would wish to meet regularly with Chief of Police Ed Harry and continue to attend council meetings as he has done for the past nine months.

Questions about easements on properties in the Brookfield Development continue to accumulate without answers. Council members David Boyko, Cope and Nagle are all asking for more information about how zoning officer Brian Nixon is looking into the matter, demanding to know exactly what kind of easements are in question. Council president Chris Becker insists council has no say in how the zoning officer conducts his business.

Nixon's job description specifically allows him a certain degree of independence, according to Becker's statement. But he is answerable to Borough Manager Chris Boehm, who also acts as zoning officer in the absence of one.

Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-134th, paid the borough a visit in the midst of a general summer tour of his constituencies, making some general announcements about the state's recent budget pass in June and answering questions from council members. Mackenzie commented on the lack of a funding formula in Pennsylvania that would determine the allocation of state dollars to education across districts. As is well known, more dollars were written into the budget for Allentown and Philadelphia due to their distressed status, explained Mackenzie, but the system for distributing funds is different every year. Mackenzie did note legislators would be voting on a formula for this purpose in 2013.

Mackenzie also announced two bridges would be closed along Brookside Road, over the Little Lehigh River and Swabia Creek. Boehm is concerned about the increase to flow on traffic through Macungie as the construction will reduce the bridges to one-lane traffic and oil trucks going to Buckeye have been told not to drive on Brookside Road.

The construction is slated to continue through November, coming when the borough is already initiating funding for several road projects and discussing the Main Street Streetscape Plan, not to mention heavy traffic season at the beginning of the school year.