ALLENTOWN – The members of the Allentown Borough Council will consider the adoption of a $1 million appropriation for capital improvements and the acquisition of capital equipment when they meet on May 26.
As they have been doing since the onset of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in early March, the council members will practice social distancing and will not be in Borough Hall for the meeting.
During the pandemic, Mayor Thomas Fritts has been joined by Municipal Clerk Laurie Roth in the Borough Hall meeting room and the six council members have participated by telephone as Allentown’s business is conducted.
The council meetings are live-streamed on Allentown’s Facebook page. The May 26 meeting will begin at 7 p.m.
During a meeting on May 12, the council members introduced a bond ordinance that authorizes the issuance of $950,000 in bonds or notes for capital improvements and the acquisition of capital equipment. Allentown will make a $50,000 down payment to account for the full $1 million appropriation.
Details of the planned improvements and the equipment to be purchased were not immediately available.
“This bond ordinance was initially planned to be $1.5 million, but we reduced it to $1 million,” Fritts said. “It is exactly in line with what we hope to accomplish this year and into 2021.”
In other business, the council members authorized payment No. 2 to Pact Two LLC, which is constructing Allentown’s new waste water treatment infrastructure on Breza Road. The payment is for $326,830.
Municipal officials said the waste water treatment plant project is continuing to advance. As of May 14, the focus was on the construction of the Integrated Fixed-Film Activated Sludge (IFAS) and sludge tanks.
Pact Two was expected to pour the IFAS tank during the week of May 14. The sludge tank may be completed within the next two to three weeks, according to borough officials.
Roberts Engineering Group, the borough’s engineer, remains in contact with PSE&G regarding the new electrical service. This will appear on the schedule for installation in May or June, according to municipal officials, who said Roberts Engineering was expecting to receive a formal schedule from PSE&G within the next two weeks.