A Lehighton business owner believes recent activity in the borough’s downtown has become a “public safety crisis” directly impacting businesses, residents, and the reputation of the town.

Bob Schaeffer, who owns Jokers Are Wild Game Cafe on First Street, told borough council on Monday that since mid-August, emergency services responded three separate times in a single day for the same two people outside and around the property across from his business and in the backyard of his business.

Schaeffer said one of them was passed out facedown on the sidewalk in broad daylight.

“Three businesses, including mine, in talking with them were disrupted, and I personally lost customers directly because of it,” Schaeffer said. “Since then, there have been several repeat incidents in the same area.”

Schaeffer noted that just this past weekend, that same property caught fire.

“While I cannot say the exact cause, it is consistent with the ongoing unsafe activity in and around that location,” he said. “My business was inaccessible for more than four hours on a Saturday — one of our busiest times.”

Schaeffer said that after the borough removed the tent encampment nearby, displaced people have moved into the town park, the trailhead pavilion, and the borough’s electronic sign lot behind his store.

“They are sleeping on benches, washing and drying clothes in public areas, and gathering around borough power outlets to charge devices,” he said. “This is the last impression visitors get before heading to Jim Thorpe, and it undermines the image we want to project.”

Schaeffer said that while this was not about judging people who are struggling, it’s about fairness, accountability, and safety.

Further, he said that as a business owner, if he’s brought an open container outside his store, he would be cited; or if he ran an extension cord into the borough lot, code enforcement would be at his door.

“Yet we have open substance use, overdoses, a fire, and misuse of borough property going unchecked,” he said. “That double standard erodes trust and damages our community.”

Schaeffer said that while he has tried to handle things privately, he reached out to the mayor multiple times and was told he would meet with the police chief, but that he never received a follow-up.

He then asked borough council for three specific commitments:

• A coordinated plan to address the ongoing activity and unsafe conditions, with the Carbon County Drug Task Force involvement if necessary.

• A clear policy for managing public spaces such as the park, the trailhead pavilion, and the electronic sign area so they remain safe and welcoming.

• Accountability in the form of a progress update delivered at the next borough council meeting.

Schaeffer assured borough council that this wasn’t just about his business, as it affects every merchant downtown, every resident, and every visitor.

“If we want Lehighton to thrive and attract tourism, we cannot afford inaction,” he said. “I urge council to act decisively and make downtown safety a priority.”