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Emmaus Council approves development resolutions, fee waivers, LVHN agreement and bill list in unanimous votes
Summary
At its Feb. 2 meeting the council approved multiple motions and resolutions — including a payer‑of‑last‑resort agreement with LVHN, conditional approvals for two land‑development plans, a refuse‑fee waiver for fire‑damaged properties, and a bill list totaling $1.179 million — with votes recorded as 7‑0 on each action.
Emmaus Borough Council on Feb. 2 approved a slate of routine and substantive items, all by recorded unanimous voice votes.
Minutes and routine matters: Council approved the Jan. 19, 2026 meeting minutes (motion by Council member Ladenburg, second by Council member Brown) and referred recurring event requests (Halloween parade, a running event) to staff for permitting and insurance verification.
Health, Sanitation & Codes actions: The committee recommended and council approved a security‑release for Chestnut Ridge and granted a street‑opening request at 446 North 3rd Street so a resident could connect to a UGI gas line despite a five‑year moratorium on opening recently paved streets; UGI will be responsible for surface repairs, council members said.
Refuse‑fee waiver: Council approved a committee recommendation to waive the refuse fee for 215–217 Ridge Street — properties the borough had deemed uninhabitable following a fire and recent sale to Matthew Spangenberg — for the upcoming billing cycle. Requests to waive a fee for 216 South 2nd were denied.
Land‑development resolutions: Council conditionally approved Resolution 2026‑7 for Emmaus Development Court LLC (216 South 2nd Street), a plan for 10 apartment units that requires an underground drainage basin to keep runoff on site. Council also approved Resolution 2026‑8 for MPRE Partners LLC (101 North 2nd / 181–183 Ridge Street), allowing a lot‑line adjustment and three added residential units, subject to emergency‑services and lighting reviews.
EMS collections agreement: After solicitor review and staff negotiation council adopted a payer‑of‑last‑resort agreement with Lehigh Valley Health Network intended to improve collection of ambulance‑transport charges that staff said currently collect at roughly a 10% rate. Borough staff described the agreement as a one‑year, nonautomatic renewal designed to reduce write‑offs for uncollectible accounts.
Finance and personnel: The council approved the bill list and payroll as presented (bill list $900,716.28; payroll taxes $66,784.27; total $1,179,254.63). Council also approved personnel actions on the manager’s recommendation: retaining firefighter Michael Dupreu after his probationary period and promoting firefighter John Simonic to master firefighter. Appointments included Christy Morris to the Arts Commission and Board of Health.
Council members emphasized these votes were largely procedural or conditional, with several items subject to follow‑up technical reviews. All motions and resolutions noted above passed with favorable voice votes reported as 7–0.
