The Slatington Borough Council plans to revise its ordinance governing streets to add degradation fees. Borough manager Daniel Stevens said the fees are mainly to discourage people, businesses and utility companies from cutting into streets soon after they were repaved.

“We’ve had too many instances where we redid a street, and a utility comes in and cuts into it,” he said.

Stevens said that when the borough plans to repave a street, it notifies utility companies and other people who may need access to the street, so that they can do their work before the paving. Unfortunately, this hasn’t stopped the after-paving cuttings.

“We want people to do the work ahead of time,” he said.

The fees will be based on a sliding scale that takes into account the number of years it has been since the road was repaved and the size of the area disturbed. For example, Stevens said, if a road is three or four years old, then the fee would be $25.50 per square yard of area excavated. If the road is nine or 10 years old, then the fee would be $14.50 per square yard.

“We tried to make it reasonable, but we have to make it fair to the taxpayers,” he said.

The money from the fees will go into an account to help pay for repairs to the road.

The proposed change to the ordinance is now going to be reviewed by the borough’s engineer.

In other business, the borough received a quote from Asphalt Maintenance Solutions in Center Valley for skin patching on the roadways. The quote includes about 10,000 square yards of stone, 4,000 gallons of emulsion and truck rental for one 10-hour work day.

Stevens said AMS has done this type of work for the borough in the past, but he has to get two more quotes before the council can select a company to do the work. By law, municipalities have to get three quotes for work that will cost between $11,300 and $21,000. Projects under that amount can be awarded, and projects more than that amount have to be put out to bid.

The council did award the crack sealing project to AMS on Monday night. The cost is expected to be $6,474.50 for about 7,000 lineal feet of sealing.

The council also approved hiring Michael D. Concilio as a full-time police officer. Concilio has been working part-time for the borough’s police department for several years, and is replacing an officer who recently retired.

“He is very highly thought of, and we’re very happy to have him,” Stevens said. “He will be an asset to the borough.”

They also approved having a study done concerning the placement of covers on trickling filters at the sewer treatment plant. The study will be done by Ebert Engineering in Schwenksville and will cost about $3,690.

Stevens said the results of the study will be used for the borough’s application for a grant for the project. The study will explain what the borough wants to do and why it is necessary. He said the covers help to keep heat from dissipating from the filters in the cold months. This keeps them warmer.

The council also approved the scheduling of a graduation parade to be held at 7 p.m. on July 24. Stevens said the parade will process through town and into Walnutport, then up to Northern Lehigh High School. The graduates will travel in separate cars in the parade.

Since the parade will be using state Route 873, plans won’t be final until approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.