Update . . . A Traffic Light Cometh (finally) . . .

Yes, I have been remiss in updating and I apologize for that. It would seem that life has gotten the best of me and, well, quite frankly, there really hasn't been much exciting to review - it's been, for the most part, "business as usual". I hope everyone has had a nice summer. It's hard to believe it's just about over, and we're a week away from the start of school again.

There are a few things worth noting:

1. Moving Permits. Please be mindful that if you're moving in, out or within the Borough, moving permits are required. Please stop by the Borough Office to obtain a moving permit. The cost is $5.00.

2. Karl Johnson - 90th Birthday Celebration. Karl Johnson - lifelong resident of Tatamy Borough will be turning 90 years old on the 31st. To mark the event, Mayor Duignam will be proclaiming August 31, 2010 as "Karl Johnson Day" in the Borough of Tatamy. A brief ceremony will be held at 10am at the Borough Hall. Light refreshments will be provided.

3. Traffic Light Update. Could it be possible that construction will start soon? Chances are the answer is "yes". Based on some information received earlier today, it looks like all the documentation has been approved by PennDOT and construction can start - perhaps as early as the middle of next month. Further information will be published as it becomes available.

4. Main St. Bridge Replacement. A few of us attended a pre-construction design meeting last week with PennDOT. Looks like construction on the replacement Main St. bridge over the Bushkill Creek is (right now, anyway) scheduled to begin in August 2011, with a completion sometime in November 2012. As with all construction projects (especially those involving PennDOT) this is subject to change, but for now, anyway, that's the latest information that I have.

That's it for now. Have a great day everyone!

Borough Council Roundup - 2/1/2010

Sorry it's late folks - been very busy. In any event, the meeting for the most part was relatively uneventful. Some highlights:

1. I have decided to sit on the Residential Rental Property Inspection Program committee. While the program has passed and is now officially on the books, there are things that still need to be ironed out - so I thought it would be best if I sat on the board and offered, wherever and however I can, some assistance to ensure the success of this program.

2. We passed the ordinance designating several additional streets in the new developments (Tatamy Hunt and Fieldstone) as "Snow Emergency Routes". Please folks - when it's going to snow - remove your cars from the Snow Emergency Routes. I had the opportunity to once again ride in the plow with Frank Young, our road foreman on Saturday afternoon. What an eye opening experience. I have several photos of that adventure that I will share with you shortly. Please also remember that the guys driving the plow trucks are doing their jobs. Yes - I understand that it sucks when the snow gets dumped on your driveway after you've just cleared it. Unfortunately there's no other way. Frustrating? Absolutely. Does it merit getting yourself all riled up and swearing at us as we're driving by? No. Also - do NOT, under any circumstances, throw your snow into the street. This includes snowblowers. Please make sure that the snowblower chutes are aimed toward your property and not out into the street. If you're caught throwing snow into the street you risk getting a ticket. Thank you in advance for your support.

3. Help Wanted. The borough has two open positions:

- Borough Secretary. In case you haven't already heard, Joanne Keifer is no longer with the borough. We wish her well as she pursues other opportunities. This is a part-time position, maximum of 30 hours / week with no benefits. If you're a detail oriented, organized individual with office experience, please stop down the Borough Office and turn in you resume and fill out an application. I will be interviewing next week.

- Part Time Police Officer. All applicants must be Act 120 certified. If interested, please submit an application at the Borough Office. All applications must be received by 4:30PM on Tuesday, 2/23/2010.

That's about it for this month folks. Stay tuned - looks like more snow (and the fun that goes with it) is on the way!

Borough Council Roundup - 1/4/2009

Well - the first Council meeting of 2010 was held this evening. Mayor Duignam opened the meeting, and swore in our newly elected officials, Hazel DeReamus (new to council), and Bob Hayes, who was re-elected to another four-year term. Unfortunately, due to illness, Mike Racz was unable to join us tonight, but Mayor Duignam will make sure Mike is sworn in properly in the next day or so.

The first order of business was to elect a council president. After much deliberation (well, there really wasn't that much deliberation - hell, there was hardly any discussion) I was nominated by Stuart Albert and elected by my fellow colleagues on council as your new Tatamy Borough Council President this evening. It's an honor that I do not take lightly, and I will do my best to make sure that, at the end of the day, we do what's right for the citizens of the Borough of Tatamy. Stuart Albert was once again re-nominated as Council Vice President.

Once that was completed, we had an executive session to discuss some personnel issues.

Coming out of that executive session, the following personnel changes were approved, effective as of January 1, 2010: The hours of the borough secretary and treasurer will be set at 30 / week, making these positions part-time. They will no longer participate in the full-time benefits program (e.g. vacation, sick, personal time). If they are scheduled to work on a holiday and the office is closed, we will pay them the hours for holiday pay. This will result in a significant cost savings to the borough. I have asked the finance committee (now headed by Hazel DeReamus and Bob Hayes) to report back to council next month with the amount that this change will save us moving forward.

Other appointments confirmed tonight include those of the Solicitor (Elviria LaBarre), Engineer (Hanover Engineering; Bob Mack and/or Brien Koecher); Building Code Inspector (Keystone Engineering); Zoning Officer (John Soloe). The only outstanding appointment remaining is that of the auditor. We have tabled that until next month at the earliest.

Other than that - it was pretty much business as usual. Some other highlights:

1. Dale Fern presented an update to the Residential Rental Property Inspection Program, to include announcing a public meeting to review the new program on Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 7:30PM. This meeting will be advertised. If this program affects you, as a landlord OR as a tenant, I highly recommend you attend.

2. We approved an ordinance increasing the mayor's salary. For the life of me I can't remember how much it was, but trust me - for what he does, it's not enough.

3. The mayor reported that the police department handled a total of 1,233 incidents last year. A special "Thank you" to the police department for taking care of us and making sure that we're safe.

4. Speaking of the police department, they had a great turnout this past Christmas with the "Visit from Santa" program. Collaborating with the Fire Department (we had two trucks on this year) - Santa was able to visit quite a few homes and put smiles on the faces of a lot of children.

That about sums things up. As always, please email me or drop a comment here if there's something that you need help with, or if there's anything that you have questions on.

Stay warm - according to the weather folks, it's looking to be quite cold for the foreseeable future. It is winter, after all.

Council Meeting - Monday 1/4/2010

2010 - wow -- it seems so strange writing 2010. In any event, enough rambling. Don't forget, tomorrow night, Monday, 1/4/2010 is our monthly Council Meeting. It begins at 7:30PM at the Borough Hall.

The meeting will open with the swearing in of newly elected councilwoman Hazel DeReamus, and the swearing in of Bob Hayes and Mike Racz, who were re-elected to new four year terms.

We will then begin the reorganization - a new council president and vice president will be nominated, and then we will begin the re-appointment of all the other folks who take care of us - solicitor, secretary, treasurer, engineer, road foreman, etc.

Following that, it's business as usual.

I hope to see you at tomorrow night's meeting. If you don't attend any others, please come and show your support for the folks who YOU recently elected, and witness their swearing in.

Happy New Year! Here's to a great 2010 (and beyond) for Tatamy!

Happy New Year Everyone!

It's hard to believe that 2009 is drawing to a close and that 2010 is now less than two hours away.

Thanks, as always for the emails, comments and suggestions, and keep them coming next year.

Monday night's council meeting starts at 7:30PM. A few things worth noting:

1. Council reorganizes at this meeting. A new president and vice-president will be appointed, along with the confirmation, or reconfirmation of the various appointments (secretary, treasurer, solicitor, engineer, etc.).

2. We welcome to the Council table Hazel DeReamus who won a seat on Council this past November. Hazel brings to council a world of experience in the area of finance and finance administration, having been the local tax collector (both real estate and earned income tax) for many many years. Hazel is a great addition to council and I look forward to working with her.

3. Returning to the table this year having been reelected to a second term is Bob Hayes. Returning for what I believe is a third term is Mike Racz. Welcome back guys and congratulations (again) on your win.

4. Sadly, not returning to the table is outgoing Council President Bob Fisher who lost his bid for reelection this past November. Bob served many many years on Borough Council. Thanks for everything that you've done over the years Bob. Bob's not going too far - he's accepted a position with the Tatamy Borough Sewer Authority.

I understand that a lot of you are upset over the fees that we have been billed for the trash pick-up. Unfortunately, we're three years into a five-year contract. Next year I hope that we will be looking at many other options for trash pickup to hopefully manage the cost and bring it down to a more manageable level. I will say, however, that the amount of money that we pay (about $350/year) is in line with what a lot of other folks around the area are paying. The one benefit that we Tatamy residents have over those other folks is that we can literally put almost ANYTHING out at the curb and the trash hauler will take it. The other folks can't. Most haulers won't accept yard waste any longer. That's something that will seriously need to be considered when contract negotiations begin again. Do we want to pay to have the ability to put anything on the curb? Do we want to pay a reduced rate and only be restricted to certain items? How about a "per-bin" rate (e.g. we supply you with a bin and if it fits in the bin, we'll take it, but anything extra you have to pay for). These are things that will need to be considered, and I will be asking for your input.

Thanks once again for your valued support over the past year, and, on behalf of my children and I, our best wishes for a Happy, Healthy, Safe and Prosperous 2010. I look forward to working FOR you in the coming year.

Here's my son Jordan, and Tax Collector John Nadolski's son John on their mountain of snow on my front lawn following last week's snowfall. Thought I'd share this.



Happy New Year everyone!

Bread and Milk Alert (oh, and please move your car)

It's looking like a true Bread and Milk Alert is in full force. Our friends at AccuWeather and the National Weather Service are predicting a measurable snowfall tomorrow into Sunday.

As a friendly reminder, please make sure that you remove your cars from the Snow Emergency Routes to allow our road crew to do their job and clear the snow.

Send me your snow photos. I'll share them here.

Be safe!

Borough Council Agenda - 12/7/2009

The following items are on the agenda for tonight's Borough Council Meeting:

Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance

Roll Call

Approval of November 2, 2009 Council Meeting Minutes

Treasurer's Report and Approval of Receipts and Disbursements

Planning and Zoning - Discuss tentative administrative program for Rental Inspection Program

Engineer's Report - Discuss traffic signal installation

Solicitor's Report
1) Resolution authorizing Tax and Revenue Anticipation Note
2) Discuss raising Borough Council President's Compensation
3) Motion from Council to pass "Residential Rental Housing Licensing and Inspection System" Ordinance and adopting the "International Property Maintenance Code".

Old Business
1. Establish an Emergency Management Committee
2. Motion to approve the 2008 Audit
3. Motion to approve final payment of $269.79 (plus accrued current interest) in Tatamy Hunt Escrow Account and close the Tatamy Hunt Escrow Account

New Business
1. Approve payment of sewer bill, refuse bill and fuel bill from the Special Relief Fund for the Special Needs of a Tatamy Resident
2. Request from the Nazareth Rotary to use Braden Park in August 2010
3. Budget Committee suggests closing the following accounts and depositing the funds (plus any current accrued interest) into a checking or savings account:
- Rails to Trails: $15.60
- Grant Money (Dirt/Gravel): $28.25
- Truck Fund: $122.97
4. Request from Chrin Brothers in support of their Landfill Renewal Application

Also included:

Comments from the Floor

Police Committee Report

Mayor's Report

Sewer Authority

Correspondence

2010 Budget - 2nd Reading

Reminder - council meets tonight at 7:30PM at the Municipal Building - 423 Broad Street. See you there!

Tree Lighting

Please join us this coming Sunday at our annual Christmas Tree Lighting at the Municipal Building. The festivities kick-off at 6:30PM. I hope to see you there!

Tatamy Borough - Local Election Returns

While not yet certified, here are the preliminary results for the local portion of the Tatamy Borough election:

Total Number of Voters
Out of 720 registered voters, 162 folks turned out at the polls, or 22.5%. Not bad for a municipal election.

MAYOR (Vote for One - ** UNOPPOSED **):
Luke J Duignam (R) - Total Votes: 129
Write in (unknown) - 1

TAX COLLECTOR (Vote for One - ** UNOPPOSED **):
Tracey Cressman (R): 127

BOROUGH COUNCIL (Vote for Not More than Three):
Hazel DeReamus (R): 126
Robert Hayes, Jr., (R): 122
Michael Racz (D): 75
Robert Fisher (R): 74

JUDGE OF ELECTIONS:
Cynthia J Duelley (R): 125

INSPECTOR OF ELECTIONS (Vote for One):
Joanne Wagner (R): 75
Bernice Correll (D): 66

For the balance of the election results, check with Northampton County Elections and search for Tatamy Boro.

Election Day - Tuesday 11/3/2009

Just a friendly reminder - tomorrow, Tuesday 11/3/2009 is Election Day. Please come out and vote for the candidates who you would like to see represent you on the Borough Council for the next four years.

The local candidates running for election are as follows:

Borough Council
Hazel DeReamus (Republican - Former Tax Collector)
Robert Fisher (Incumbent - Borough Council President - Republican)
Michael Racz (Incumbent - Democrat)
Robert Hayes (Incumbent - Republican)

Mayor
Luke Duignam (Incumbent - Republican)
** Mayor Duignam is running unopposed

I will post the results of the election tomorrow night once the polls have closed and the results have been released.

Please - come out and vote tomorrow and show support for your local candidates. Thank you!

Tatamy Council Candidates - November Election

The Express-Times recently featured an article profiling the candidates running for Tatamy Borough Council in the November general election. You can read the article here.

Special Election Tomorrow

Don't forget - tomorrow is a special election to fill the senate seat vacated by Sen. Rob Wonderling.

Rental Property Inspections

I cannot believe that I left this off the Council Roundup - shame on me. This is more important than the library actually as it directly affects owners of rental property in Tatamy Borough.

As you may know, for the past several months (actually close to a year now) a sub-committee of folks from both the Planning Commission and Zoning Hearing Board have been getting together and developing a comprehensive inspection program for all the rental properties in the Borough. They will be using a checklist developed in conjunction with the civil engineering firm that currently is responsible for all the building inspections in the Borough.

The committee presented a detailed report to Council last week - which included the checklist, suggested fees, and a suggestion for scheduling the inspections. Council gave the blessing to the committee to work with the Borough Solicitor and Engineer to draft the ordinance. This ordinance, because it potentially affects many people, will be read TWICE - the first scheduled reading of the proposed ordinance I believe will be at the October council meeting (10/5 - 7:30PM), with the final reading/adoption at the November council meeting (11/2 - 7:30PM).

The goal of the inspection program is to ensure that all rental properties are safe, and up to code.

If passed, it is the goal to begin inspecting rental properties I believe in Q2 of 2010.

Borough Council Roundup - 9/8/2009

Can you believe it's September already? Where did the time go? Seems like just the other day I was opening my pool, this weekend if we get a break from the rain I'll be closing it. The end of another summer season is upon us.

In any event, you're not here to listen to me lament about the weather - you're here because you're curious as to what happened this week at the borough council meeting.

It was a relatively uneventful meeting actually - though there are a few things worth mentioning:

1. The "No Through Trucks" ordinance in Tatamy Hunt (a blog reader suggestion actually) is going to be passed next month. We have received approval from Palmer Township to install some signage at their end of the development. So - once the ordinance is advertised and passed, we will post the signs and drivers will face penalties for violating them. Please be mindful that local deliveries are exempt from this policy. Thanks to the reader (you know who you are) who suggested it.

2. Trash Collection. There was a brief discussion concerning the cost of trash pick-up in the Borough, along with the administrative expense of maintaining the billing, chasing after open receivables (there will ALWAYS be open receivables) and such. I thought it might be a good idea to see if there was any way to absorb the cost into the property taxes and eliminate the separate trash bills that we receive twice a year. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like the math works out - so, for now, anyway, it will stay the way it is, and we'll be billed 2x/year for our trash pickup.

3. Library. Of course I saved the best for last (gotta keep you reading . . .). Anyway, a few weeks back if you recall, I met with the Board of Directors at the Nazareth Library. Also present at that meeting if you remember was the State Librarian. I learned (along with the rest of the Directors at the Library) that the State Library Code allows local libraries only to reach out and attract communities that directly border them to become contributing members. So, in the case of the Nazareth library, that includes Nazareth Borough, and the townships of Upper, Lower and Bushkill. What about Tatamy you ask? Well - because of where Tatamy sits on an "island" if you will surrounded on three sides by Palmer Township (North, West, and South) and by Forks (East), we don't have a direct link to Nazareth, therefore Tatamy is not (and never was) eligible to be a participating member of the Nazareth Library. So where does that leave us today? Is there a library that we're eligible to be a contributing member of? According to the folks in Harrisburg, the only library that we would be eligible to join (should we choose to do so) is the Easton Area Public Library. I offered to begin discussions with them, but the general consensus of the majority of the folks on council, along with the folks in the audience (and the folks who I have received emails and feedback from) has all been consistently the same - and that's "let's keep things the way they are for now". So - those of you who want library cards are free to go to the Palmer or Easton library, pay for your membership, and the Borough will reimburse you 50% of the fee. Some day perhaps things will change, but for now, it is what it is.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Borough Wide Yard Sale - This Saturday (8/29)

Clean out the basement, clean out the attic and get all your treasures ready. The annual Tatamy Borough Wide Yard Sale is scheduled for this coming Saturday, August 29. Yard Sale Permits are NOT required for this day ONLY.

Just remember - "one man's trash is another man's treasure". I've found many treasures at yard sales.

Have fun everyone!

Library Follow-up

I would like to publicly thank Lynn Snodgrass-Pilla, John Reinhart and the rest of the Board of Directors of the Memorial Library of Nazareth and Vicinity for inviting me to their Board meeting on Tuesday night. The discussion was lively, insightful and proved to be a learning experience filled with surprises for everyone in attendance.

There was quite a bit of information that was learned. The most important of which needs to be verified before I can publicly discuss what our next steps are. For now, let me just say that this isn't finished yet, and I intend to keep learning about some potential new options and opportunities, beginning new discussions, and moving this forward.

Stay tuned to this station for further updates as they become available.

Some Interesting Library Statistics

Just a quick post today with some interesting library statistics (thanks to borough secretary Joanne Kiefer).

Since 2006 (this is as far as I've gone back in history) Tatamy Borough has spent a total of $712.50 in library reimbursements for our residents who have library cards at the Palmer (Easton) Library. The breakdown is as follows:

Membership fees for the Easton Library are $30/adult and $5/child. The borough will reimburse half of the fee.

2006: $165.00 (10 adults / 5 children)
2007: $255.00 (16 adults / 6 children)
2008: $155.00 (9 adults / 8 children)

And so far for 2009, $137.50 (15 adults / 5 children)

As far as the feedback that I've been getting from the Tatamy residents concerning this issue (thank you very much - keep it coming please) - the majority of the folks are in favor of keeping things the way they are. Here's one that I found rather interesting:

The Easton Library is a little further away but the library is bigger and the staff have been very friendly. When I just renewed my card, they reminded me of the reimbursement. It’s nice to have books available when every kid in school is assigned the same project – Easton has more resources.

I was also just reminded that several years ago (I can't remember when) there was a referendum on the ballot to support the library that the voters turned down. I'll try to get some more info on that one and post it here.

In any event - I thought these were interesting statistics and decided to share them with you. Unless I'm missing something, I can't see justifying an $11 to $14K spend /year when we've only spent just over $700 in four.

Have a good day everyone!

Tatamy Family Day

By now you should have seen the fliers that the Fire Company was passing out. But, in case you didn't get yours, Tatamy Family Day is going to be held this coming Sunday, August 16, 2009 between 1 and 5PM at Hope Lutheran Church. Some of the events of the day include:

Todd Rothrock Basketball Court Dedication
We will be dedicating the basketball court at the High Street Park in memory of Todd Rothrock. There will be a "Hot Shot Shooting Contest" afterward.

Tatamy Police Department
The Tatamy Police Department will be conducting a K9 demonstration at 2:30PM. They will also have on display some of their old uniforms.

Tatamy Historical Society
Come and learn a little bit of Tatamy's heritage from the Tatamy Historical Society.

Fire, Safety and Emergency Management
- Suburban EMS Vehicle Display
- Go through a smoke trailer and learn fire safety
- The PennStar Helicopter will be landing at 4PM
- The PA Child Identification Program sponsored by the PA Masonic Lodge
- See the Northampton County Mobile Command Center

Blood Drive
Roll up your sleeves and donate a pint of blood. The Miller Keystone Memorial Blood Center will have a blood mobile onsite between 1 and 4:30PM (on the 16th only).

Balloons the Clown will be there between 1 and 3PM.

DJ Terry Cressman will be providing the music and entertainment for the day.

Food, prizes, games, displays and giveaways. Come and enjoy a day of fun and learning, and get an opportunity to spend time with your neighbors.

I hope to see everyone there!

Tatamy Car Show, Other . . .

Sorry folks - life has gotten away from me and this morning I just realized it's been a month since I posted anything here. I've been traveling and quite busy at work (believe me, I'm not complaining at all about that one) so I apologize for being quiet. In any event, there are a few things that you should know:

1. The annual Tatamy Car Show is being held today on Broad Street. Please come out and support the Tatamy Historical Society and the drivers who have braved the elements (or at least the threat of rain and storms) who are bringing their cars. I hear them already.

2. At last month's Council meeting, borough council passed an engine braking ordinance forbidding the use of "jake brakes" within the borough limits on 8th Street and on Broad Street. Signs are being made up and will be posted. Thanks to the citizen in Tatamy Hunt for suggesting that. We also discussed the possibility of restricting truck traffic through the Tatamy Hunt development. Our engineer Bob Mack will be back this month with some recommendations and hopefully we can propose an ordinance. Stay tuned.

3. It looks like the street lights in Tatamy Hunt are finally being replaced (Thanks John for the heads up). I realize the lights are not the "fancy schmancy" ones that were installed by the developer, they are nicer than the ones that I thought MetEd was going to install (standard brushed aluminum post with a light at the end of a mast arm hanging over the street). Hopefully once they're all in and powered up this will FINALLY put an end to that whole mess.

That's it for today - I hope to see everyone at the car show (come out before it rains).

Route 33 Interchange Meeting

FYI - there will be a public meeting tonight at 7PM at the Chrin Community Center in Palmer Township to discuss the proposed Route 33 Interchange on Tatamy Road. I encourage everyone to attend. I will be there, and will provide an update after the meeting.

I've said it before and I'll go on the record again and say publicly that I wholly support this project - at the end of the day I think it's what Tatamy and the surrounding area needs to encourage smart growth, which, in turn, results in jobs and much needed revenue and resources for the Borough.