During the Jan. 19 Lower Macungie Township Board of Commissioners meeting, the Timmer family was given a proclamation for Dennis Timmer’s years of service in the Lower Macungie Township Parks and Recreation Board. The Harvest Field/ Hamilton Boulevard path will be renamed to the “Dennis Timmer Memorial Trail.” This is in memory and honor of Timmer’s involvement in the parks and recreation system. Timmer spent a lot of time with the Harvest Fields trail.

The decision to keep Shepherd Hills Golf Course operational was approved at the meeting. The new name is Shepherd Hills Golf Club of Lehigh County. Improvements will be made to the golf course. Also included are renovations to the Krocks Pub and banquet facilities. A playground will be constructed due to the loss of the school playground.

Fire Chief Dave Nosal gave his report about the Lower Macungie Township Fire Department. There were a total of 484 calls in 2016, up from 425 in 2015. Of these calls, 409 were within Lower Macungie Township. The remaining calls were outside of the township.

These calls include 185 false alarms or 34 percent of the total. This is still noted as a problem.

The average turnout for the fire calls is 15. The average response time is three minutes and 27 seconds.

The busiest time of the day is between 5 and 6 p.m. The busiest day is Wednesday.

There is a small subdivision proposed at 7804 Sweetwood Dr. There will be a deferral of curbing and sidewalks and there are three lots proposed for construction of housing units.

Mark Curran, maintenance control officer, U.S. Army, wrote an email of thanks for the packages for troop support. He spoke about missing home at Christmas and how the packages help bring a little of the USA to where the troops are stationed.

The sixth annual pajama program was also mentioned. A total of 546 pairs of pajamas were donated with 95 being donated by P.J. Whelihans. A total of 270 books were donated as well.

Creamery Road is under scrutiny for truck traffic. A study was conducted and it was determined Creamery Road should have a restriction for trucks.

Alan Fornwalt, township engineer, recapped projects throughout 2016. From the Church Lane bridge to the Wild Cherry bridge, specific details about these bridges were provided. There are 14 bridges within the township which require a lot of maintenance.

An ordinance was proposed and approved for the loan for the township.

The expansion of the community center was discussed. This project includes another gym and increasing the size of the library.

Dennis Gouldy has resigned as assistant tax collector with Lora Lynn Walmer being appointed as his replacement. Walmer is the secretary in the tax collector office and she will be able to take the place of the tax collector if necessary.

East Penn School District submitted a proposed schedule for use of the Church Lane Park for baseball. This was approved.

Improvements to this park as well as Wild Cherry Lane Park were discussed. Lighting is proposed for the Church Lane Park. Improvements are to be made to the Wild Cherry Park for usage by little league players.

Spillman Farmer Architects have submitted the lowest bid for the proposed community center expansion.