At the Feb. 10 Catasauqua Borough Council's meeting, council approved plan changes to the intersection of Race and 14th streets.

The meeting had been delayed one week because of last week's snowstorm.

A pole, damaged by a motorist, delayed the project and required the purchase of a replacement pole at a cost of $16,035. The driver who struck the pole has not been identified, so no insurance claim could be filed against the driver. Possible grant funds to cover the cost had already been allocated.

Councilman Eugene Schlegel took an alternate course. He contacted the borough's insurance carrier and got all but $1,000 of the cost reimbursed. The damaged pole sits closer to the road than the poles on the other corners of the intersection.

"The cost includes moving the pole to the back side of the sidewalk," said Borough Manager Eugene Goldfeder. "But we don't have the necessary easements in place yet." The project restarted with a March completion date anticipated.

In other business, Howard Lieberman, Executive Director of the Whitehall Township Industrial & Commercial Development Authority, presented an update on the Community Revitalization and Investment Zone (CRIZ.)

"The state awarded two cities CRIZ status, but the original agreement was to have two cities plus a township/borough pilot project," he said. "We received a rejection, but everyone who submitted for the pilot project was rejected. The idea is not dead."

Lieberman spoke about a January 24 meeting with local state representatives where the CRIZ committee presented proposed changes to the regulations.

"Based on that meeting, there are two bills moving forward in the legislature to make changes," he said. "I expect that I will be back in April to review what we need to do to present a new package for consideration." In the interim, Lieberman asked the solicitor to review the inter-municipal agreement with the idea that all three municipalities, Catasauqua, Whitehall and Coplay, could agree to the basic parameters.

Also at the meeting, resident Sharon Carpenter inquired about parking in the alleyway behind her property. Jefferson Street has private garages and parking is tight.

"It is not unique," Goldfeder said after the meeting. "We deal with the problem often. I prefer that the neighbors can work these things out. We could come in and regulate parking, but that solution usually causes different problems."

Council President Vincent Smith asked Carpenter to check to see where her property ends.

"In some cases, the property line is at the back of the garage and there is no room to park. In other situations there is a grass strip before the roadway starts," he said.

Council Brian McKittrick asked if cars could be parked in the garage. According to Carpenter, that situation does not occur often on Jefferson Street.

Goldfeder said he will monitor the situation.

Smith reported that during the latest snow emergency, residents responded well to removing cars.

"A police officer was on the street with his siren and bullhorn alerting residents to move their cars," he said. Police looked up plate numbers for cars that remained and tried to find owners.

"We only towed two cars," said Mayor Barbara Schlegel.

The results were good enough that the borough decided not to move forward with a phone notification system for snow emergencies.

"The phone system would cost us $500 per incident," said McKittrick.

The mayor also reported the heating unit at the East End Fire station malfunctioned. A contractor had a bid to replace the unit at $2,800, but the association that owns the station did not have the funds. Clim-A-Temp, local corporate neighbors, came to the rescue and repaired the unit at no charge.

Catasauqua is starting to make preparations for July's Old Home Week. Council authorized setting up tents and closing portions of Bridge Street. The details are not finalized so the available options may change. Council's authorizations were made to allow planning to continue. According to Councilwoman Deb Mellish, North Catasauqua has not made a formal decision to join the festivities.

"They [North Catasauqua Council] say they want to participate, but they aren't taking any action," she said.