By SARIT LASCHINSKY

Special to The Press

Aside from receiving fire company reports, Lynn township supervisors had a short business agenda for their Dec. 10 public meeting.

In the park report, Chairman Justin Smith said the township had been approached by the Northwestern Lehigh School District, which Smith said was upgrading its emergency procedures.

He said the district requested a memorandum of understanding with Lynn Township to use Ontelaunee Park in case of an emergency where students needed to be taken out of school.

The board unanimously agreed, and also set Roadmaster Bruce Raber and Smith as the emergency contacts.

Several finance-related decisions were also approved by the supervisors, starting with a motion to appoint an outside auditing firm for a one-year period to carry out the township’s audits.

The board also voted to adopt the 2021 budget, which Supervisor Steve Feinour noted had been duly advertised since November.

Additionally, a tax collection resolution was adopted setting the fee for tax certifications at $20, duplicate bill fees at $5 and canceled check fees at $50.

An ag-security resolution was also approved by the board, which Solicitor Marc Fisher said dealt with the proposed inclusion of approximately 110.125 acres at 6711 Curvy Drive into the township’s agriculture security area.

He said the matter was reviewed by the township’s planning commission and ag-security advisory committee, with both bodies recommending approval.

A carry-over item from the November meeting was also revisited in the form of an agreement with the Sanctuary at Haafsville to provide stray animal services to the township.

Smith said the agreement had originally included no financial cap, but after the board voiced its disapproval, changes were made to include a $5,000 cap and costs of $50 per cat and $110 per dog.

Smith said the Sanctuary would contact the township once the total amount reached $4,000 and noted while service costs to the township fluctuated per year from $1,700 to $6,000, on average the $5,000 limit would likely not be reached.

He also said the rescue organization would send information on treated animals to the township at any time, and after Feinour requested the Sanctuary send monthly reports to the board, both supervisors approved the agreement.

In other business, Raber reported he had met with PennDOT and representatives from Heidelberg Township about issues on Memorial Road.

He said all work including brush-cutting and tree trimming had been completed.

Under miscellaneous items, the board decided to continue tabling a date for the township’s appreciation dinner due to the uncertainty brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Township engineer Chris Noll reported he would be assembling information regarding the township’s new short-term rental ordinance to be presented in January 2021 when the board sets the necessary fees.

Noll said fees should be assigned as short-term rentals are different from normal zoning permits.

Feinour asked Fisher, Noll and township fire company members to look into collecting information on ordinances from nearby townships related to interactions with fire departments and the necessary minimal standards.

He noted the board had some responsibilities to uphold under the township fire study, adding while the board had been relatively lax in letting Lynn Township’s fire companies “move forward,” the board was interested in having additional information.

Supervisors also noted that the township was using COVID-19 relief funding to upgrade computers to hold virtual meetings and, in a similar vein, said they would look into assisting the township’s fire companies with their own virtual fire training.

Lastly, Smith announced several upcoming dates, starting with the township’s closeout meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 28.

He also made note of the reorganization meeting 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 4, 2021, which will take the place of the regular January supervisors’ meeting, as well as the elected auditors reorganization at 7 p.m. Jan. 5, 2021.