At Catasauqua Council's workshop session Monday, borough Manager Eugene Goldfeder reported to council that money is available in 2014 from the county to demolish the building at 464 Race St.

"We need to start the process now to get the building torn down," he said. "I recommend that we give the engineer direction to start his evaluation."

The demolition process, according to Goldfeder, requires that the engineer evaluate the structural stability of the building. Once it is determined the building is unstable, the demolition order can be issued. The owner will be served with the notice to tear the property down. If the owner fails to comply, then the borough will have the structure removed.

Reworking the intersection at 14th and Race streets, another project in the borough funded with grant money, ran into a delay.

One of the utilitiy poles at the intersection was hit by a car and will need to be replaced. No accident reports were filed or witnesses found that saw the accident, so no driver could be cited.

According to Goldfeder, replacing the pole would be allowed under the grant, but there may not be sufficient funds to cover the entire cost.

Goldfeder estimates the cost of the replacement pole at $15,000. The new pole will be located further back from the roadway. The pole is often struck or sideswiped by vehicles.

Also at the meeting, resident Clarence Taubor expressed frustration at the length of time it is taking to select a new candidate for an open position on the Catasauqua Police Department.

"Why is it so difficult to hire a police officer?" he asked.

Goldfeder responded to the question. Council can only hire from a list of three candidates created but the borough's Civil Service Commission, he said. The commission recently supplied a list of four candidates because the first candidate on the list took another job.

"We can't take someone off the list," he said. "They need to remove themselves."

Solicitor Thomas Dinkelacker recommended that council reject the list because it had too many names.

The initial selection process for the vacant position on the force started midyear 2013. There were delays because the commission did not like the candidate with the top test scores. Once the issues were resolved, the council made a selection.

When a newly hired officer promptly took a better job within a month, the hiring process was under way again.

Solicitor Dinkelacker reported on the proposed FedEx hub in Allen Township. He asked that the borough manager contact municipal officials in Allen Township to assist in determining what impact the project would have on Catasauqua.

Dinkelacker suggested that someone from the borough attend the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission meeting Thursday, Jan. 30 where the project will be discussed in more detail. (See related article, on page 1.)

Resident Alfred Regits expressed his concern that runoff from the facility could cause flooding along Catasauqua Creek in the southern part of the borough. The stormwater retention plan proposed by the developer was rejected as inadequate, according to Goldfeder.

After the meeting, Goldfeder indicated that the borough would actively seek a contract with FedEx for wastewater.

"If they took 50,000 of reserve capacity that we have in our portion of the plant, it would help reduce costs," he said.

Catasauqua, Hanover Township, North Catasauqua and a sliver of Northampton share capacity at the wastewater treatment plant.