Lehighton Borough Council on Monday discussed the existing fire protection agreement with Mahoning Township, which has the borough agreeing to furnish fire equipment and firefighters in certain areas of the township.

Mahoning currently pays $2,000 annually. The borough has requested this rate be increased based on the increase of automatic aid calls over the years, Beckett said after the meeting.Beckett said council had received a letter from the township's board of supervisors and fire chief that states as of April 1, the Lehighton Fire Department will no longer be first due to any parts of Mahoning.The Lehighton Fire Department will only be dispatched in the areas east of the fire line for high-priority incidents such as dwelling fires, structure fires, brush fires, vehicle fires and motor vehicle accidents, she said.Beckett said the borough wants to continue to work with the township, and that if there are issues or concerns, the fire chiefs from both municipalities can discuss them further.Further, any nonemergent situations will not involve the Lehighton Fire Department, she said.No safety will be compromised by the changes and discussion in the agreement, Beckett said, who added it was also agreed that the rate will not be increased this year.The borough will continue to provide mutual aid as needed with surrounding communities, she said.2015 road programCouncil also approved the 2015 road program and funding.The project will include Seventh Street, from Iron to Coal; Ochre Street, from Third to Fourth; 11th Street, from Hamilton to Coal, and council will bid South Fourth Street, from Bridge to Alum, as an alternate.Beckett said the engineers estimate is $98,059 for the project, which would be paid out of the borough's liquid fuels account.The project will be bid, with the awarding of bids to come next month, she said.In a related matter, council agreed to authorize obtaining additional costs and creating the project scope for Sgt. Stanley Hoffman Boulevard.The current engineering estimate is $270,000, which would be paid for by borough reserves, Beckett said.Payment questionedIn an unrelated matter, Councilman Darryl Arner questioned why the borough owes what he believes is a substantial amount of money for zoning/building/ uniform construction code services.Beckett said after the meeting that the borough had paid $825 for property maintenance services and $4,648 for zoning/building/ UCC services.The borough has adopted the quality of life ordinance, and plans to enforce it boroughwide.Councilman Scott Rehrig said that last Friday, he, council President Grant Hunsicker, the zoning officer, police chief and Beckett took a tour of some of the visible areas of town.Later that day, enforcement was sent out, and many of the areas were cleaned up by Monday, Beckett said.She said after the meeting that the borough will be contracting additional hours for property maintenance services and enforcement of the quality of life ordinance.Other businessIn other business, council:Approved the wage rate increase for swimming pool employees. Their first-year salary will be $9 an hour, second-year salary $9.50 an hour, and third-year salary $10 an hour. Additionally, all lifeguards will be required to go through the pre-employment process, which includes physicals/ screening and background investigations.Tabled the AutoZone development agreement. The proposed AutoZone would be located along Route 443. Conditional approval has previously been granted, but the borough is waiting on several conditions to be met, Beckett said.Discussed an ordinance requiring installation of sidewalks prior to transfer of ownership. No action was taken on the matter.Agreed to have officer Matthew Bender attend the Troop N Camp Cadet Program July 19-24 at the Penn State Hazleton campus. The cost to the borough is officer Bender's wages during this time.Announced the Lehighton Fire Department has been certified as a participating department with the Office of the State Fire Commissioners at 50 percent participation.Announced that in conjunction with Fire Protection Week, the Lehighton Fire Department will hold the new station dedication, new custom pumper dedication, and a parade during the weekend of Oct. 2-4.