In its first meeting of 2014 with two new members of council, Catasauqua Borough Council authorized the purchase of a new backhoe for public works. "The price is scheduled to increase this month and we need to get this done now," said Borough Manager Eugene Goldfeder.

Normally, a committee reviews purchases of this magnitude, but Goldfeder asked for an exception because of the pending price increase. The purchase was budgeted with payments over several years. The backhoe price with an allowance for the trade-in of the old machine was $97,217. Public Works Director Jeff MacHose asked council to add a vibrator plate attachment to the backhoe order and Councilman Eugene Schlegel proposed adding $8,500 to the price. Council approved the measure unanimously.

Council members were surprised that Police Officer Kevin Lindsay resigned his position to take a more lucrative offer. Lindsay was hired by the borough in September after an extended delay in filling a vacant position.

The officer's resignation means that the borough is out about $1,000 for uniforms. Things like bullet-proof vests are custom designed for each officer. Councilman Brian McKittrick said his committee will look into the hiring contract with the idea of amending reimbursements to the borough if an officer leaves after a short duration hire. The situation has not presented itself to the borough prior to this incident. McKittrick asked Police Chief Douglas Kish to forward the Civil Service List to council so they can begin the process of selecting Lindsay's replacement.

Goldfeder explained that the fee for Spillman Farmer, the architectural firm selected to do an assessment of the township-owned brownfield on Front Street, has increased. When council approved hiring Spillman Farmer, the estimated fee was $18,000. Goldfeder reported that the fee is now $33,800. "They are doing more than the conceptual diagrams," said Goldfeder. "Most of the fee is in the marketing surveys that they will do. They will find out for us which types of businesses are interested in the property." Although some members voiced their concerns, Goldfeder said additional voting was not required because council already approved awarding the contract to Spillman Farmer.

Junior Councilperson Katherine Reingruber reported that the high school received recognition for its recent efforts in the Toys for Tots program sponsored by the Marine Corps. She also noted that the high school is having a sewage backup problem, which brought a revenge chuckle of satisfaction to those opposed to constructing the new building.

Council expressed its satisfaction with Public Works' snow removal efforts, but there were complaints about clearing the alleys of snow dumped into the alleys by residents. Jeff MacHose, director of public works, reported that alleys do not get a second pass with the snowplow. According to MacHose, residents clear their driveways and dump the snow in the narrow streets. Kroope reported that there is no requirement for a resident living on a corner lot to shovel a path to the street, which caused some complaints from senior residents. Goldfeder affirmed that there is no requirement.

Mayor Schlegel reported that Fourth Street residents are still parking illegally during heavy snowstorms. Fourth Street was recently designated as a snow emergency route. "The situation is getting better, but we still towed 10 cars," she said. According to Schlegel, Fourth Street residents were informed of the change. "When it snows over four inches, we implement the emergency streets," she said.

As part of the borough's administrative reorganization for the New Year, council made the following appointments: Janice Lathrop to the Vacancy Board; Dawn Fisher to the Civil Service Commission; George Maureka to the Board of Health; and Bernard Skripek and Donna Seitz to the Zoning Hearing Board. Richard Hertzog was reappointed as fire chief and council accepted his recommendations for officers and firefighter operators/drivers.

The borough also approved hiring Tom Jones to write grants for the George Taylor House and to use the Sanctuary at Haafsville, a no-kill-shelter, for animal control services.

The borough is looking for volunteers to fill positions on the Borough Authority, which oversees the operation of the borough's water and sewer plant, and the Code Hearing Board.