During the Feb. 20 Macungie Borough Council meeting, Council member Roseann Scheicher raised the issue of member presence at meetings. She noted when council meetings are not attended by its members, it is difficult to carry on with business, especially when there is not a quorum.

The last borough council meeting ended with unfinished business due to lack of a quorum with two loyal council members sick while two others with a bad attendance record did not attend again. This becomes a costly problem.

Solutions discussed included having residents write to their state legislators to request a change in legislation to prevent this from happening in the future. With some council members having a low percentage of attendance, it was suggested that should also be considered at election time by residents. Council members said residents should be aware of members’ lack of attendance.

The Macungie police report for January is available on the Macungie borough website. There were 169 incidents dispatched. Of these, there were five domestic disturbances, four traffic accidents, 27 traffic citations, four driving while under the influence and five arrests. A complete report is available on the website.

The new traffic light at Church and Main streets was discussed. This light is controlled by an “eye.” Everything proposed to be changed, such as timing, must go through the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and a traffic study must be done.

One concern about the new traffic pattern at the intersection of Church and Main streets involves the middle lane of Route 100. This lane was a travel lane but has been changed to a left turn lane due to the way the road has been marked.

The borough is moving forward with Phase 2 of the Streetscape project. This phase will include paver work, lighting and tree planting.

It was noted any solicitation done in the borough must be done with a permit.

An executive session was held over a personnel matter.

Macungie and Alburtis boroughs will partner for the next recycling event as the cost of the equipment has almost doubled. With this in mind, non-residents will pay $25 for this service.

Questions from the public meeting regarding the Streetscaping project are being researched and answers will be available in March.

Deputy tax collector appointments were announced. The Upper Milford Tax Collector Deborah Seibert Schevets will be Macungie’s deputy tax collector while Cynthia Hartzell will be Upper Milford’s deputy tax collector.

Daniel Peterman was appointed as Macungie’s part-time police officer. He will also work in Alburtis as a part-time police officer. He originally worked as a police officer in Allentown.

The banner resolution was revisited. It was suggested all banners be hung over Route 100 and approved for each event. Borough Manager Chris Boehm stated that proposal would be very cumbersome. A resolution was passed with a 2018 event list which shows when banners will be displayed.

A resolution was approved for the tax collector to have a check reader.