A borough resident appeared before North Catasauqua Borough Council Sept. 3 to register a complaint about a rooster that has been heard in the area of American Street and Howertown Road. The resident is frequently awakened in the early hours of the morning by the crowing. The rooster has not yet been seen, the resident said.

A borough staff member who lives near the area confirmed the rooster can be heard throughout the day. Council members lamented the borough has no existing ordinance or zoning rules to restrict the ownership of fowl, but the police department will be looking into whether or not any state or federal law about livestock in residential areas can be utilized to remedy the problem.

In the meantime, council President Peter Paone encouraged affected neighbors to find the owner of the rooster and determine if a solution can be reached without the interference of the borough.

The resident also made a suggestion that the intersection of Arch and Grove streets, by North Catasauqua William J. Albert Memorial Park, include a safer crosswalk to accommodate any children who may be walking to the park from the direction of Howertown Road.

Currently, a yield sign on Arch Street alerts motorists to traffic coming the same way down Grove Street, but pedestrians have no means of safely crossing the street from the Blue Monkey parking lot into the park.

Council decided that, in lieu of swapping the yield sign for a stop sign, lines will be painted to create a crosswalk. A sign stating “Yield to Pedestrians” might also be added on Arch Street.

Adding a stop sign would require a traffic study.

Paone and several other council members thanked everyone who helped to organize the public memorial service for the late Kim Moyer. The service for the borough’s police chief was held Aug. 22 at Catasauqua High School. Paone particularly thanked Annette Englert, borough treasurer; Connie Molchany, health officer; and Roger Scheirer, director of emergency management, for all of their work in putting together the program and decorations.

In his report to council, Mayor William J. Molchany Jr. said he received 10 resumes for the police chief position, five of whom will go on to be interviewed next week.

Interviews will be conducted by a panel of police chiefs set up by Northampton Borough Police Chief Bryan Kadingo. Molchany, Scheirer and Cherie Gebhardt and Michele Hazzard, of the police committee, will also sit in on the interviews.

In his police report, Cpl. Chris Wolfer said the department’s new officer-in-training should be officially working on his own by mid-October.

Wolfer also gave an update on car 79, Moyer’s police cruiser. Originally, the department planned to retire the number in honor and memory of the chief, but due to the limited set of numbers the department is licensed to use for its vehicles, they have decided instead to give the number to their armored car, known as “Peacekeeper.” They plan to use that vehicle as a way to honor the chief instead and convert his former vehicle into a standard squad car with a cage partition and gun racks.

Scheirer, also of the civil service department, requested to have John Keglovits removed from the department due to him making no reply whatsoever to any of the department’s attempts to contact him. Council voted to replace him with Greg Scheirer.

The borough of North Catasauqua has received a permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture that indicates its awareness of the Spotted Lanternfly in the region. Borough officials, police and fire departments and any local businesses that deal with vehicles will now be required to inspect their vehicles for attached pests on a daily basis and record their observations.

Vehicle inspections and record keeping are intended to stop Spotted Lanternflies from spreading outside of the quarantine zone, an area that includes Lehigh and Northampton counties.

Scheirer became certified to instruct the borough on how to deal with the pests and had a few pieces of advice to help deal with the problem. He told those present at the meeting the insects are able to lay their eggs indoors, and, if it happens, dogs will not be harmed from eating them.

Aside from that, the recommended method to eliminate fully grown Spotted Lanternflies has not changed - just keep smushing!

The owner of a property that neighbors 408 Buttonwood St. appeared before council once again to compliment the borough for its further cleanup of the vacant lot. The resident also wanted to thank those who made private donations to reimburse the cost of the rented brush-hog, which was needed for the initial cleanup by neighbors of the overgrown property.

Catasauqua Youth Soccer Association will be using the borough park for its recreational league fall program. The group will meet 6-7 p.m. Wednesday evenings throughout October and noon-1 p.m. Sunday afternoons.

Borough council approved the public works department’s purchase of a 2019 Ford F-250 pickup truck with snow plow for roughly $42,000 on a three-year lease. The truck will replace an old car, which the department was using to transport shovels and snow-clearing equipment.