Emmaus Borough Council held its second February board meeting Feb. 16, a day later than usual. The borough took the Monday off for Presidents Day.

The Emmaus Arts Commission gave a short presentation on their upcoming project. Lauren Kuhn, Sarah Plaz and Kerri Schreppel were in attendance to represent the commission.

They presented on the Emmaus Community Park mural. They are eight months into the project. The estimated cost of the project was not able to be determined during the meeting. The mural is set to be complete in August and a community reveal event will be held. The mural will be painted on the “long building” in Emmaus Community Park. It faces toward the road and main baseball field.

The commission requested the borough shine and prime the location where the mural will go. They also asked for the borough to promote the mural progress on social media. Visit the Emmaus Borough Facebook page to learn more about the project.

Following the art commission, Ashley Lorah from Emmaus Main Street Partners announced there will be a ribbon-cutting at 1301 Chestnut St., Emmaus, 5:30 p.m. March 15 when Lemon Grass Café will be opening its doors to the public. Additionally, Lorah added Mi Havana Cuban Cuisine will host a one-year anniversary April 19 at 1301 Chestnut St., Emmaus.

Mayor Lee Ann Gilbert read a short report about the Emmaus Police Department. The police department received a notice from the Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission that they received a certification of safe policing for communities.

“On behalf of the Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Commission, this letter confirms we’re certifying that your agency meets certain eligibility requirements set forth by the U.S. Department of Justice for discretionary federal grants. Your agency is qualified to receive federal grants for three years from the date of this letter,” the letter stated.

In new business, Ordinance 1211 was read and approved. The ordinance added a residential disabled parking sign and assigned a permitted parking spot on the public street located in front of 1248 W. Minor St.

In public works, Roy Anders requested a new shed be added to the community garden which will be used to store tools and items. This was approved by council. Additionally, Anders thanked the public works team in Emmaus for their work in snow removal and public roadwork.

Councilwoman Shana Baumgartner announced an effort for a series of concerts in the Emmaus Triangle this summer. This will be led by the Emmaus Main Street Partners. They hope to host concerts in July and August. This was approved by council. The parks and recreation committee will oversee COVID-19 guidelines during the time of the concerts.

Councilman John Hart did not have much to report on public safety, but did mention the Emmaus Post Office requested a no-parking sign. However, public safety felt it was unnecessary, as the complaint was due to improper snow removal, which Hart said should be done by the post office.

Hart finished by stating Emmaus wasn’t even recognizable on the Pennsylvania 2020 year-end police report. This was due to the low rate of crime in the borough. However, if they were to consider the marijuana convictions, then they would be higher on the list.

In budget and finance, the bill list was announced for mid-February; the total amount was $1,038,154.