In a Catasauqua Borough Council workshop session Monday, Councilwoman Deb Mellish explained to the council a recommendation made by her committee on sewage tapping fees. She is the chair of the council's general government committee.

Several developers have undertaken renovation projects in the borough with the expectation that ancillary fees were paid. The developers were notified via letter of the unexpected charges and have questioned the decision. Mellish and her committee researched the topic.

As borough Manager Eugene Goldfeder explained, tapping fees were originally set up as a way to pay for a portion of the sewage treatment plant in the 1950s.

"The charge back then was $50 for each residential unit and $100 for every commercial business," he told The Press after the meeting. "It was a flat fee."

The tapping fee regulations called for an additional fee to be paid for new homes or expansions of existing homes or businesses.

Fast forward to the 1980s and the state entered the debate over fees and required that tapping fees be justified.

"Some communities used the fees to stop affordable housing developments," commented borough Solicitor Jeffrey Dimmich. "They raised the fee so high that only higher-end homes could be built. Other communities used the fees to stop growth altogether."

According to Goldfeder, the present tapping fees in Catasauqua were set based on the value of the sewer treatment plant, improvements and interest paid on financing debt. The fee is significantly higher than $50.

"The cost is justified, based on the value of the plant and inflation," Goldfeder said.

Tapping fees are based on the value of the sewage plant. Connection fees, another charge, defray the cost for connecting to the system and the distribution system.

In the renovation of the Mansion House on Front Street, the tapping fee paid in 1950 was for a hotel/boarding room. Currently, the developer is converting the property to a business use on the first floor with four apartments on the second floor which, according to Goldfeder, is adding four units to the property. The tapping fee and connection fee added $15,000 to the renovation cost.

Opponents of the tapping fee have argued the fees decrease the incentive to renovate older properties, especially when the sewage plant has excess capacity to serve the borough and surrounding communities.

Goldfeder argues that building for future needs is part of the planning process.

The borough recently floated a bond issue to make improvements to the sewage plant. Improvements are made as mandated, but are based on improving water quality in rivers and streams.

A committee recommendation to allow a developer to pay the fees in installments will be discussed at the next regular council meeting.

In other action, Mayor Barbara Schlegel swore in Spencer Phillips and Shiloh Sziy as junior councilpersons for the new term. Both are students at Catasauqua High School.

Council also debated about initiating a rule for Catasauqua Park & Playground that would forbid small children from being inside the fence at the skate park. Although anyone under age 13 needs parental supervision, there is nothing that restricts toddlers from being inside the fence that encloses the skating park area.

Toddlers can be a distraction to skaters and, to some observers, present a danger. When questioned, Goldfeder could not recall if someone other than a skater had ever been injured at the skate park.

The council will address the change at the next meeting.

Councilman Brian Bartholomew proposed the borough make an effort to rework the paving on all of Second Street. Last month, council authorized funding to improve Second Street at the hill where it intersects with Race Street. Presently, the pavement is pockmarked with depressions that cause drivers to swerve out of their assigned lanes. Bartholomew suggested the borough improve all of Second Street.

Councilwoman Jessica Kroope reported the borough's free concert series is ending.

"I compliment Jeff Miller on selecting the bands," she said. "The concerts were well attended every week."

Because of the Labor Day holiday, the next meeting of council is moved to Tuesday, Sept. 2 at the regular time in the municipal building.