Lansford Borough Council moved ahead on a regional police study and some other police protection matters, but pumped the brakes on others in light of a federal lawsuit filed against the borough by a part-time officer this week.

Council approved sending a letter of intent to the state Department of Community and Economic Development to conduct a study on regional policing.

Last month, Summit Hill Borough Council said it would support Lansford’s effort to see if both communities could economically support a regional force or joint police coverage.

Only Summit Hill and Lansford would be involved in the study, as Coaldale just signed an agreement with Tamaqua for police coverage.

There was no discussion on the joint venture during the more than two-hour-long meeting that also dealt with other police hiring issues. Council met in executive session before the meeting to discuss the litigation and hiring issues, Council President Bruce Markovich said.

Councilman George Gilbert withdrew his motion to hire a police chief, after solicitor Robert Yurchak recommended they defer action on hiring a chief for one month.

Council did discuss revamping its civil service ordinance based on recommendation from its civil service commission, which met on Monday night.

Among the changes are adopting the Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission standards for police testing, which are the same standards used by state police; and changing the testing sequence to put physical agility first.

The commission had previously discussed these changes, as well as chain of custody for new applications, at meeting in August. It was noted that most applications are now sent to the borough as electronic files, not paper applications.

The commission also sought an up-to-date Borough Code book and manual, as well as the removal of one its members and the addition of two more alternates.

Council will send a letter to the current member, Steve Foster, seeking reasons why he has not attended meetings or not responded to calls before taking further action.

Council also approved extending the date for applications for full-time police officers to Sept. 15, as several applications came in after the previous deadline of Sept. 5. Council also approved that all of council and the mayor will interview any part-time police applicants.

While the borough continues to seek full-time police officers, council deferred action on reinstating Matthew Houser as a full-time officer to determine parameters for his return.

After the meeting, Markovich explained that the police contract does not spell out issues, such as seniority, longevity, pension, for when an officer returns.

He also pointed out that Houser would not be subject to retesting, such as the physical agility test, because he would be returning within two years of leave. Houser left the borough in February.