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Bowmanstown looks for church bell site

Bowmanstown Borough Council is seeking a home for an iconic bell from the Emmanuel United Church of Christ, which has closed.

A property and real estate auction is scheduled for Oct. 23. The final worship service at the church, which had a history spanning 122 years, was Oct. 5.

Church members told borough council that they would like to see the bell “live on” within the community and offered a suggestion on where to display it.

Oliver Solt, who passed away in 2017, was a lifelong member of the church and a respected member of the Bowmanstown community. Church members would like to see the bell relocated to the Oliver Solt Pavilion near the Bowmanstown Volunteer Fire Company.

The council members agreed that the borough would be happy to help preserve the bell, although they are still in the process of deciding what to do with it.

Solt served Bowmanstown as its police chief for 38 years and was a former borough supervisor. He continued to serve the community as an officer in the Palmerton Visiting Nurses Association and a driver for Palmerton Meals on Wheels.

In addition to being a member of Emmanuel UCC, he was a life member of the fire company.

“It would be nice to display the bell in a public space,” Council member Rob Moyer said. “The only concern is preventing someone from driving off with it.”

Moyer added that Nesquehoning had issues with someone stealing a similar bell, so he would like to see measures taken to prevent that from happening in Bowmanstown. The deadline for the bell to be removed from the church is Oct. 23.

In other borough news, the cost of the new scoreboard for the baseball field was covered by Bruce Koch, who donated the scoreboard in honor of his late son Danny. Dedication for the new scoreboard is set for the spring.

Danny Koch graduated in 1996 from Palmerton Area High School, where he was lovingly known by many as “The Mayor.”

He served the community as a volunteer firefighter with the fire company, starting at the age of 16.

He also worked as an EMT for the Palmerton and Lehighton Ambulance Association since 2011 and 2013, respectively.

After hours use

of property

Also discussed at the council meeting was the issue of loitering and improper use of borough property after hours.

Bowmanstown resident Tonia Smale expressed her concerns about the issue.

“We don’t want to wait until something happens,” she said, discussing her viewpoint that something needs to be done proactively.

Mayor Zachary Snyder suggested that council make a motion to draft a town ordinance for loitering on borough property after hours. Solicitor Lisa Pereria will draft an ordinance for to consider.

The council also discussed a possible town curfew, as other surrounding towns, such as Palmerton, have had a curfew in place for years.

Another topic at the meeting was a property at 92 Fireline Road owned by resident Michael Shupp. He discussed how the building was assessed under the building code of 1997, and that there were some questions as to how many equivalent dwelling units, which are used in calculating sewer charges, the property has.

Shupp said the property “doesn’t match the borough’s ordinance.”

Council will get in touch with Duane Dellecker, borough codes and zoning, to discuss how to properly proceed with how the property will be classified.

Also at the meeting, Bowman Park gave a yearly donation of $100 to the borough.

Emmanuel United Church of Christ in Bowmanstown has closed. The contents and real estate of the church at 509 Hamilton Ave. are scheduled to be auctioned off on Oct. 23. TIMES NEWS FILE PHOTO