The newly initiated residential rental inspection process has begun in Summit Hill, and the results seem to justify the need for such a process.

At Wednesday’s meeting of Summit Hill Borough Council, it was reported that only 30% of the rental properties that have been inspected so far have passed.

Kira Steber, secretary/treasurer, said the borough’s engineer in charge of the inspections has only recently begun the inspections and didn’t specify how many properties had been inspected.

The council began the residential rental inspection program this year.

Property owners, who have residential rental properties, are required to obtain a rental license, which costs $105, and then have the property undergo a rental inspection by the borough’s engineer, Lehigh Engineering, at a cost of $205. Properties that have deficiencies to be addressed must be reinspected at an additional fee of $205.

Steber told the council that a more detailed report would be presented at next month’s meeting.

In other business:

• Police Chief Todd Woodward said the borough has a curfew ordinance. He said the parents of youngsters in violation of the ordinance will be cited. During the past month, one adult male and one adult female were cited for curfew violations for different incidents “when their juvenile children were found to be out past curfew.”

• Steber said the newly created sewer transmission fee has created major headaches. The $100 annual fee was due on June 1. Letters were mailed to residents in April but, Steber said, many people complained they never received the letter.

“More than half of the first letters disappeared and we don’t know what happened to them. It’s been a complete disaster.”

As a result, some of the penalty fees for late payments have been forgiven.

• Mayor Jeffrey Szczecina and council President David Wargo heaped praise on the Hootenanny Committee for this year’s event, which was held in June.

They also commended workforce supervisor Ronald Yuricheck for the fine condition of Ludlow Park in preparation for the Hootenanny.

Wargo said he personally thanks the committee and Yuricheck, adding he feels that the event is “an asset to the community.”

• The Summit Hill Recreation Commission was given permission to host an exercise class with weights, called a pound class, at 6 p.m. Wednesdays in the Hilltop Community Center, providing that no other events are occurring there at that time.