Catasauqua Councilwoman Deb Mellish proposed revisions to the existing garage sale ordinance at Catasauqua Council's May meeting earlier this month.

Changes to the code have been circulating through committee for months, but consensus has been hard to achieve.

Mellish wanted to restrict the number of yard sales to two per year per household.

Under the new ordinance, homeowners would still be required to get a permit to hold a sale and either code enforcement or the police department would enforce the permit requirement. Under the existing rules, only code enforcement could cite a property owner for a permit violation.

Restricting the number of sales was a sticking point for Councilman Eugene Schlegel, he wanted no restrictions on the number.

"I want to make sure that someone is not conducting a business out of their house by having a yard sale every week," Mellish said.

According to Schlegel, there have not been instances where someone abused the yard sale privileges.

Council President Vincent Smith proposed the township move forward and advertise the new ordinance. Mellish, to her credit, determined there was no consensus on the number of permitted yards sales. She asked for a straw vote on who would support the ordinance as written.

"If there is opposition to the ordinance, then we should not waste money on advertising it," she said.

Council did not support the proposed ordinance, but further discussion revealed that increasing the number of yard sales to four would garner enough support. Smith referred the matter back to committee for a rewrite.

Councilwoman Christine Weaver proposed that the borough establish a permanent location for a flea market.

"If we had a set location and held the event at the same time every month it would attract people to the borough," she said.

One parameter discussed during the debate on the yard sale ordinance is that yard sales attract people to the community.

Weaver said a scheduled flea market would attract visitors to town. This latest twist will be discussed in committee. Weaver is also looking for a resident to fill a vacancy on the Planning and Zoning Committee.

Councilwoman Jessica Kroope asked council to approve adjusting municipal pool rates for North Catasauqua residents to match the rates that borough residents enjoy with the hopes of broadening the pool's appeal to surrounding communities. She also announced that Scotty O was selected as the concessionaire for this pool season.

Borough Mayor Barbara Schlegel issued a proclamation for Britni Elekes, a freshman at Catasauqua High School, who was nominated as a People to People Ambassador based on her academic and athletic achievements. Elekes ranks fourth in her class.

Mayor Schlegel also honored Catasauqua's fall and winter sports teams for successful seasons.