At the Jan. 16 Catasauqua Borough Council meeting, borough leaders bid farewell to Solicitor Christy Schlottman and approved her replacement.

After working in the borough for a year, Schlottman is moving on to be a deputy attorney general. She said she is expected to start in March, so she can help with the transition.

Council approved Charles Smith to be the solicitor in Schlottman’s stead. According to borough Manager Glenn Eckhart, Smith has previous experience stepping in to help the borough.

Borough leaders, including Mayor Barbara Schlegel and council President Howard Cunningham, thanked Schlottman for her tireless work in the borough. It was noted she did more work in her year with the borough than previous solicitors did over a number of years.

“I can’t tell you how much we appreciate all you’ve done,” Cunningham said to her.

Eckhart shared an emotional goodbye with Schlottman, crediting her work and thanking her for helping them through a difficult year.

“We are going to deeply miss you,” Eckhart said. “Thank you for all you’ve done for the borough.”

“It’s been a pleasure working with you,” Schlottman said.

In other business, council approved the appointment of a new public works supervisor. Brian White was thanked for his ongoing efforts to assist and help within the borough.

The public works department also received praise for its efforts during the recent snowfall.

David Steffen, retired police chief of the Northern Lancaster Regional Police Department and peer consultant, presented his Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development peer-to-peer management report for Catasauqua Borough Police Department.

Council is holding a special meeting 6 p.m. Jan. 29 to discuss the results and next steps.

Engineer Vanessa Nedrick reported the Walnut Street stormwater culvert improvement project received a number of bids. She asked council to approve rewarding the project to Gaver Industries, doing business as Barker and Barker Paving, which came in as the low bid of $123,920. Council unanimously approved.

Nedrick also requested approval to move forward with design, planning, inspection and bidding work for two wastewater treatment plant projects, which just received grant funding. The trickling filter rehabilitation project received $409,672, and the influent pump replacement received $255,000. Council approved the engineering work to plan the projects.

Other borough projects, which had already been planned and are “shovel-ready,” received grant funding. She noted these projects can now move ahead.

There was some discussion about the pool area. Nedrick and Eckhart reported they have been working on and researching grant opportunities for the site of the former municipal pool. Conceptual designs and plans are being drawn up. Some potential options for the area include playground equipment, pickle ball, cornhole, trees, benches and more.

After the meeting, Eckhart commented on the current work being done at the pool. He said the first step was removing the old, rusted equipment. They will also lower the walls and drill holes into the foundation to allow for water drainage and flow. The area will be filled and grass will be planted. The short-term plan is to get the area covered with grass and the fence taken down by spring to open up the space and allow for more room during the annual summer concert series.

Eckhart reported they recently completed the 2022 audit, which showed approximately $1.3 million in overspending, he added. Eckhart also noted the borough still owes $750,000 to the sewer plant. Much of this will come out of the approximate $700,000 budget surplus for 2023. Additionally, Eckhart reported $1.3 million was paid for the loan on the municipal property.

“That is about $2 million being out for issues predating 2022,” Eckhart said.

An agreement for trap, neuter and release services in the borough through No Nonsense Neutering for cats was tabled until the next meeting. Eckhart said he believed the borough was not going to find a better agreement, but since they were still waiting on the final numbers and costs, Cunningham made a motion to table the action.

Eckhart also noted they are still working on an agreement to handle stray dogs in the borough.

Borough council will meet 6 p.m. Feb. 5 for the committee and workshop meetings and then 7 p.m. Feb. 19 for the regular business meeting.