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LEHIGH VALLEY WEATHER

EMMAUS BOROUGH COUNCIL

It was announced at the Feb. 19 Emmaus Borough Council meeting the planning commission has established an ad hoc committee to develop a 10-year vision for Emmaus Borough.

Michael Gibson, chairman of the planning commission, sent a letter to council explaining the many subsections the plan will cover including natural resources, housing, infrastructure, historic preservation, recreation transportation, vehicular, pedestrian and other support. The committee will utilize past and current studies of the borough for some guiding direction. Gibson said the process of thoroughly researching and developing a plan will take two years.

“I challenged the planning commission, because they asked what they could do more of than just review plans,” Emmaus Borough Manager Shane Pepe said.

Pepe said he doesn’t want to do what they always do and take another study and put it on the shelf.

“I literally have 15 plans sitting on a shelf that either we looked at and maybe took a little piece of it but never looked at anything else, or we just didn’t utilize,” he said.

Pepe told the commission if they really want to make an impact to create something the people in the community are a part of and something that can be used as a tool, to create a comprehensive plan. The plan will be something that a group of residents make and not done by an outside consultant group.

“I think there’s some excitement out there with different groups that are buying into this,” Pepe said.

He continued to commend Gibson and the rest of the commission members by “taking the bull by the horn” and diving into the work. He said if he would have asked the planning commission to do this exact thing seven years ago, they would have looked at him and laughed.

The committee has been planning meetings and inviting groups from all over the community to take part.

“As long as we participate on our behalf and the community participates, I think that there is a lot of potential,” Pepe said.

In other business, the borough will be purchasing a new fire pumper apparatus in the upcoming year. The estimated cost of the new truck will be around $600,000 and has to be purchased by the end of the year but no sooner than September. The new truck will take around a year to build after the purchase takes place.

Fire Chief John Price explained the potential financial plan. Price said once they select a specific vendor to purchase the truck from, then they can enter into negotiations involving payment plans. There will possibly be several finance options including electing to pay it all upfront and receive a cash percentage discount, elect to pay installments as the truck is being built or pay a certain fee up-front and the rest later. Price said in a worst case scenario, they would have to pay the entire price upon delivery.

“Once we select a vendor, it’s my recommendation that the borough manager and myself sit down with that vendor and come up with what’s most feasible for our finical situation at the time of order,” Price said.

He said it’s a little premature to think about payment until they actually get a firm bid cost of the truck itself.

Council put aside $100,000 in the 2018 budget and $200,000 in the current 2019 budget for this investment. They are suggesting an additional $200,000 be added to the 2020 budget, which was already anticipated.

Pepe said the reason they are asking council to approve this now, is because they want a set plan in motion before they place the order in September. The vote is not to decide on what financial plan to take.

“What we don’t want to do is waste his time, which is valuable, or any of his employees’ time, which is valuable, by having him go through all this work, specifications, working with vendors, and the whole nine yards and then just say ‘ah we were just kidding,’” Pepe said.

Council approved the motion 7-0.

Council awarded a dump truck bid lease to Tax Exempt Leasing. It will be a four year lease, with a monthly payment of $3,444.74.

Ordinance 1886 passed its first reading which deals with establishing parking restrictions adjacent to Triangle Park and South Fourth Street during the Emmaus Farmers Market.