Slatington Mayor Walter Niedermeyer broke the tie vote Monday night at the special meeting about whether to pursue a ban on all commercial fire rings, fire pits, and outdoor fireplaces such as chimineas within the borough.

“I have no problems with the way it is right now. I vote to keep the ordinance as is,” Niedermeyer said. “I’m going to put this thing to bed. Let’s not talk about it anymore. This has been going on forever. It’s done with. It’s over with.”

The issue had been discussed for several months in the public safety committee, but they couldn’t come to an agreement.

At the council’s monthly meeting on May 10, six of the seven council members were in attendance and took a vote to pursue amending the fire prevention ordinance to forbid the use of all commercial fire rings, fire pits and outdoor fireplaces. The vote was a tie: three in favor of it and three against.

Edmund Healy, the borough’s solicitor, told the council that the ordinance states that the mayor is the tiebreaking vote. On that particular evening, the mayor was absent due to personal reasons. This meant that the council had to call a special meeting to decide the matter.

Council member Thomas Bartholomew clarified to the residents at the special meeting on Monday night that the tie vote was not the final vote on the ordinance. It was the first step toward a change, a fact-finding vote.

If the council had voted to pursue the changes, then the ordinance would have been amended and advertised for the public to view and make comments.

Ron Humanick, one of the residents in attendance at the special meeting, addressed the council before Niedermeyer’s vote. He said he was in favor of fire rings and finds his to be a very relaxing spot.

“There are guidelines set forth by the council, and I would say abide by those guidelines,” Humanick said.

The borough’s fire prevention ordinance allows people to use these products, but they must be kept 20 feet from any structure, such as a house, shed, fence and the like. They also must be kept 20 feet away from sidewalks, roads and alleys. Burning in open barrels, on open ground, or in a hole dug into the ground is not allowed.

Humanick asked the council to “think of an alternative means before you make those decisions. There are code enforcements.”

After Niedermeyer voted to keep the ordinance as it is, some residents thanked him and some still had questions.

Richard Fogelman has been a resident of the borough for 38 years and said he and his neighbors have never had a problem with their fire rings.

“I don’t understand why this came up,” he said.

Council President Bryon Reed said there were some complaints from residents about the fire pits, the smoke, and what was burned in them.

Bartholomew, who is a member of the public safety committee, said another reason it came up is because he has been reviewing the borough’s ordinances. Many haven’t been updated for decades.

Borough resident John McCormick said, “There’s a lot of properties that have no issues at all,” regarding the guidelines in the ordinance.

He suggested that if this topic ever comes up again, instead of banning all commercial fire pits and similar products maybe try qualifying types of properties by zone or give permits.

Reed said permits were something they had considered.

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