"I apologize for the wait, but this was a much-needed discussion," said Council President Homer "Bud" Lorrah after exiting a 93-minute mid-meeting executive session the night of Dec. 3.

Such may have been the case, but he next said the possible arrangement between the borough and Bethlehem for fire service is exactly where it was two weeks earlier; unresolved.

Lorrah has long asked community members to participate in borough affairs by attending meetings, but after tearing through the agenda in only 10 minutes and promising a quick return for public comment, residents, some with children in tow, were left to languish.

Amidst the bored chitchat, former council president Charles Derr said the difficulties with the fire department are unsurprising with failure of the Lion's Club and borough churches. "It's a sign of the times," he explained. "A lot of people work out of town," and don't spend a lot of time or energy socializing within the community.

Once again addressing resident concerns about the city providing fire coverage, council members defended their negotiations. Jim Smith said trends of falling volunteer numbers makes him worry about relying on them in the future no matter their effectiveness today. "My concern is how are we going to be five-10 years from now," Smith said. "If [the fire department] is having problems today…?" He left the question to the imagination.

Meanwhile, council did adopt its preliminary budget, which is unchanged from last year, marking at least five years the borough has been resolving its financial crunch without raising taxes.