Whitehall Area Chamber of Commerce held its State of the Region meeting June 12 virtually over Zoom. The meeting was originally scheduled for March but had to be postponed due the COVID-19 pandemic.

Four municipal leaders from the region spoke individually to give updates on the current state of their respective municipalities; then, the meeting was opened to a question-and-answer segment with listeners.

The speakers were Whitehall Township Mayor Michael P. Harakal Jr., Coplay Borough Councilman Steve Burker, Catasauqua Borough Manager Steve Travers and North Catasauqua Mayor William J. Molchany Jr.

Harakal discussed the financial concerns caused in Whitehall due to the pandemic. The earned income tax in Whitehall Township is off pace, which causes concerns for next year.

The township is already scrubbing through the budget, Harakal said, looking to make cuts wherever possible, some of which will be permanent.

Several township employees were sent home by order of their doctors when the COVID-19 pandemic first began in March. The tax office was significantly affected, leaving Treasurer Colleen Gober as the only employee fit to work for several months. During the shutdown, Gober has worked between 12- and 16-hour days, clocking in 80-hour work weeks to manage the township’s finances and taxes.

“It’s been really hard for her,” Harakal said, noting the difficult conditions.

Burker discussed Coplay’s plan to build a new municipal building at 1 Bridge St.

He also alluded to an announcement regarding the 2020 Coplay Community Days, which he said should be released within the next two weeks.

Travers addressed the impact of COVID-19 on Catasauqua, remarking there have been 59 confirmed cases of the virus between Catasauqua and North Catasauqua and fortunately no deaths.

Tracking of the disease is continuing in the borough, and Travers detailed a partnership with MIT to track the presence of COVID-19 in Catasauqua’s sewer effluent. So far, the study has only reported trace amounts, which seems to be consistent with the number of confirmed cases.

Travers also acknowledged the nationwide unrest following the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis last month. He brought up efforts the borough and Catasauqua Police Department have made over the past several years to strengthen the relationship between the police and the community, such as the addition of school resource officers in the Catasauqua Area School District.

Catasauqua saw a protest of its own when Catasauqua High School students and community members led a Black Lives Matter march through town to borough hall June 5. Travers described the protest as a safe event. He said the borough and police department were prepared in case the protest turned violent, as was seen in many towns across the country, but that was not the case in Catasauqua.

In his update on North Catasauqua, Molchany recounted the challenging year North Catasauqua Police Department has had since the unexpected death of Police Chief Kim Moyer last July.

Acting Chief Chris Wolfer was made full-time police chief earlier this year. During that time, Wolfer brought several improvements to the department, including giving every officer a desk computer and performing nightly security checks for businesses in the borough.

During the Q&A portion of the meeting, Harakal said recreation services would likely be the most affected by revenue loss due to the pandemic. Work habits for some township employees will also likely be changed, he said, but the administration wants to make sure people aren’t losing their jobs.

Listeners at the meeting also asked about the current state and future for restaurants in the area. Travers and Burker both stated the restaurants in their municipalities have largely fared well with curbside service.

Coplay has the advantage of its restaurants being in a centralized location in fairly close proximity to Community Plaza, which is crucial now that outdoor dining is permitted.

Some Catasauqua businesses have requested permission to expand their outdoor capacity, so they can serve more customers, Travers said. Similarly, Whitehall restaurants have made requests for an expedited codes process to add or increase outdoor dining capacity.

When asked about an expected time frame to move into the green phase for reopening, Harakal refused to speculate.

“I’m not going to project,” he said, adding, given the circumstances, local government officials have to “hope for the best but prepare for the worst.”