In a statement before council Aug. 19, Ronald Conrad, a mayoral candidate for Macungie, accused council and appointed Mayor Gary Cordner of "playing politics," giving an unfair advantage to Cordner in the upcoming election and citing examples of other local municipalities in similar positions which had specifically avoided what he termed an "unbiased election" by appointing someone who promised not to run for the electoral office after the period of his interim appointment.

Conrad made his feelings plain to council, stating openly his disappointment in them for playing politics and calling it a step backward, worthy of Macungie's last mayor, Rickie Hoffman.

While admitting to being taken aback by the statement, Cordner allowed there might be some political advantage in his favor in terms of the election, but he wasn't anticipating an accusation like Conrad's and he wasn't interested in playing politics.

Macungie's new mayor is primarily focused on helping to oversee the police department– his interest in the position was more professional than political, he says. Indeed, Cordner found a certain irony in Conrad's statements since the majority of council are not of his declared political party, and called their decision a courageous one.

The issue of installing a security camera at Macungie Borough Hall may come up sooner than expected after being tabled for budget discussions at council's meeting Aug. 5. Cordner raised the question again, asking council if Chief of Police Ed Harry might have their approval to proceed with re-installing the old security camera– it is without recording capabilities but it would give the officers an extra eye outside at night, Cordner said.

However, the issue rolls into one with the police department's union, the Teamsters, and who would be responsible for installing the camera on the building-property of Macungie Borough. The camera itself is private property in use at the police department.

Cordner also suggested the possibility of getting other businesses or entities in the borough involved in the camera project, perhaps to defray some of the cost by expanding the size of the package. The parks, for instance, might want to get in on a system of security cameras linked with that at Borough Hall. Recent bouts of vandalism at the parks might make this more palatable as well.

Any other businesses interested in getting involved with the cameras would be responsible for paying their share, something council was quick to clarify since the item will appear in budget discussions next year.

In the meantime Borough Hall will continue to gather information on camera systems for review during budget season; council president Chris Beckers says he wants to know everything about it before it can be discussed as a budget item.

While speaking of security, Cordner also noted Officer Todd Bernhard of the police department sends out security updates to an email list of those interested, highlighting things like a recent series of Internet scams. Anyone who wishes to be added to the email list may contact Bernhard at tbernhard@macungie-pd.org.

Residents of West Chestnut Street are concerned and confused about why their street was selected for sidewalk construction first in the borough without being associated with street construction. The borough is enforcing its sidewalk ordinance, which states the distance between the top of the curb and the level of the sidewalk must be less than one inch. ADA regulations state it should be perfectly level, but Borough Manager Chris Boehm says this is next to impossible, even in new sidewalks. But borough residents are confusing ADA regulations with borough ordinance due to a mention of ADA in borough Zoning Officer Brian Nixon's notice sent out to residents. The sidewalks are being raised because the borough is enforcing its ordinance.

Nixon did not choose streets arbitrarily; council left it to his discretion to determine which were the worst streets that should be started first. Marvin Moyer, of Brookfield Drive, and others argue Main Street is in far worse shape, but whatever the case residents of Chestnut Street are required to uphold their end of the ordinance and pay for the construction. Boehm says she sometimes advises residents of a block to get together on hiring a contractor which can help lower costs.

Finally, Macungie's trash problem seems to have abated. Council members Joe Sikorski and Debra Cope scanned the borough street by street on two different Sunday evenings and found approximately 15 properties with trash out before 6 p.m.– in violation of the borough's code. Residents have received notices reminding them of the trash pick-up procedure and Boehm says for now at least people are paying more attention. Council members will make two more street runs on Sunday evenings before deciding if any more action needs to be taken in September.