At Monday's workshop meeting of the Catasauqua Borough Council, Councilman Alfred Regits reported JP Mascaro and Sons was the low bidder for a new borough contract for curbside refuse pickup.

As reported earlier, this long-term contract is bid at a lower amount than the previous contract.

"We can also save some money by reducing the number of pickups to one per week," Regits said.

Currently, trash is picked up twice a week in the borough.

Few communities pick up trash more than once a week.

"I think people like the service," said Council President Brian Bartholomew.

The second pickup costs the average homeowner about a $1 a week extra, according to borough Manager Eugene Goldfeder.

Council will vote on awarding the contract at its next session, but the consensus of opinion among council members was to keep the twice-per-week schedule.

Also at the meeting, Howard Lieberman, Executive Director for the Whitehall Township Industrial & Commercial Development Authority, reported to council the group working on the Community Revitalization and Improvement Zone (CRIZ) decided to go ahead and submit an application.

Goldfeder had reported at the last council meeting the group consisting of Catasauqua, Coplay and Whitehall could not meet the requirements for the application.

"The [CRIZ] board discussed the problem at our last meeting, but we decided to go ahead and submit the application anyway," Lieberman said.

The application will be denied because they don't have the legal organization in place and they are working with more than one municipality.

"We did it because we want to get the projects in front of people so they can see what we've accomplished," he said.

Lieberman went on to explain several initiatives that were an offshoot of the CRIZ board. Important to Catasauqua is getting awareness of the former FL Smidth site which will kick off in the spring and a new initiative to develop the Lehigh River waterfront.

"We have officially announced a Waterfront Symposium that will involve communities from Walnutport to Easton," he said.

Lieberman committed to pushing the development agenda forward and promised ongoing support.

In other business, Bartholomew noted the flagpole along Canal Road was destroyed by the high winds last week.

Councilman Brian McKittrick suggested a company to replace the pole with a stronger steel version to replace the plastic pole. Council will look into the matter.

The Catasauqua Borough budget is complete and will be voted on at council's next session. Councilwoman Jessica Kroope reported the Christmas decorations are up, including some of the newer ones recently purchased.

She also indicated Tom Jones, a local historian who has been working on the George Taylor House, will present, at council's December meeting, a mock-up of four educational channels he is proposing.

Mayor Barbara Schlegel reported the Christmas tree lighting is scheduled for Dec. 8. The festivities start with crafts at 5 p.m., with Christmas carols at 6 and Santa arriving at 6:30.