Upper Nazareth Supervisor’s Meeting – January 2, 2018
Reorganization Meeting – Current Slate of Supervisors
Mike Rinker – Chairman
Donna Hirst – Vice Chairman
Robert Disbrow
Scott Sylvainus
Brian Pulliam
Announcements
Christmas trees will be picked up until January 26th. The road crew will follow the leaf pick up schedule.
Community Concerns
A complaint from a resident (me) about the supervisors ignoring the results of the survey for moving to a single-hauler. The survey was held at the Touch-a-Truck event and all attendees were charged a $5 entrance fee. I asked the supervisors not to solicit the public for their opinions if they’re not going to pay attention to them and not to take surveys at events where citizens will be charged for participating in a democratic process.
There was a water main break on Liberty street on January 1st. There have been 9 water main breaks in Northampton County recently due to the cold.
Chief Cope requested the township come up with a policy on animals. Currently, loose dogs picked up by the police can languish in the cages for 2 weeks or more when owners fail to claim them. There could be a liability issue for the township should one of these dogs bite someone. UNT police answered 79 animal calls in 2017 concerning dogs, feral cats and wildlife. The supervisors may draft a proposal to limit the amount of time the township keeps the dogs to 2 business days.
Township manager, E.J. Mentry, asked for permission to contact members of the Recreation Board. Attendance at the meetings has been poor and he wants to ask participants if they still want to participate. If not, the township would like to find more dedicated volunteers.
Your Money at Work
Passed – a proposal to raise the salaries of administrative staff 50 cents an hour, retroactive to 12/31.
Appointed Maher Duessel to conduct an audit on the 2017 books, the price not to exceed $12,000.
Passed – a 2-year contract with Carbonite for server backup. Costs include set up fees and a $600/year price. The contract will include a clause to make sure that, if the system is destroyed, it can be recovered within 72 hours.
Approval for $1,950 for a garage door at the Friendenstahl Avenue facility. This cost was included in the budget ($2,000)
Approval for a Farm Tek fabric roof for the Salt Shed at Friedenstahl Avenue.
Tabled – a discussion about having a uniform officer stationed at meetings. Chief Cope will put together prices (currently estimated at $1,600-$1,700/year for this service) for the next meeting. Supervisors discussed if Planning and Zoning meetings will also be covered.
Becky Bartlett covers these meetings because residents have a right to know what their government is doing.
Upper Nazareth Township Meetings 