North Catasauqua Borough Council, during its Oct. 21 meeting, was visited again by Keystone Engineering’s Dave Kutzor, who gave an update on the plans for the re-engineering of the borough’s stormwater drainage system.

Residents have complained for years about inadequate drainage that leads to flooding, particularly at the intersections of Main and Green streets and Fourth and Cypress streets. Kutzor addressed Keystone’s analysis of the 87 acres that collect at Fourth and Cypress streets, which is referred to as part two.

From the analysis, it was discovered the pipes in that area are not spacious enough to accommodate the amount of water being allowed in through all the inlets. This is the same problem discovered in the analysis of part one, which includes the area that drains at Main and Green streets.

Kutzor discussed a three-phase plan to address the flooding in part two. Phase one would relieve flooding at Fourth and Cypress streets by bringing the water closer to the river, but it does not reach all the way. This phase alone is estimated to cost around $471,000.

With all three phases, fixing the entire part two area comes at a cost of $1,028,000.

Despite his absence at the meeting, council President Pete Paone left a written address where he proposed an alternative solution.

In its plans to beautify the trail, the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor intends to green and re-water the stretch of the Lehigh Canal that runs along Catasauqua and North Catasauqua boroughs. Paone and representatives from the D&L believe the re-engineering done in phase one of Keystone Engineering’s plan could route stormwater into the canal as another means of re-watering.

Not only does this potentially eliminate phases two and three, but collaborating with the D&L also opens the borough up to further grant funding for the project, such as grants for green initiatives.

Council voted to permit Keystone Engineering to begin its work on phrase one and also to permit Paone to begin negotiating with the D&L about the collaboration.

The North Catasauqua Betterment Committee’s Autumnfest was unanimously hailed as a major success by those who attended the borough council meeting. The massive turnout led to huge sales for all food vendors. North Catasauqua Police Department had a record of 163 children who got their fingerprints registered.

Cherie Gebhardt, of the recreation committee, noted the snack stand sold out of hot dogs by the middle of the day, selling around 300 of them and more than 100 soft pretzels. The betterment committee plans to focus on the issue of food supply for next year.

In his report, Chris Wolfer, acting police chief, informed council of major engine issues with one of the squad cars. The car in question has cost $5,500 in repairs this year alone, and significant engine work or a full replacement could easily double that figure.

Currently, having one car out of commission is not a major issue, but as Wolfer pointed out, if another car goes down for any reason, the police department will have some problems. Council was not immediately pushed to make any decisions regarding the car, but the issue will undoubtedly come up again as the 2020 budget is set to be finished early next month.

Council will next meet 7 p.m. Nov. 4 in the borough building, 1066 Fourth St.