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MAY 25-31, 2017
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Colonial Regional Police Commission a no-show At meeting with Bath’s Police Advisory Panel
Carol A Step Inside the byBearBath Museum Heckman
Bath 250th Anniversary Quilt In 1987 Bath celebrated the 250th anniversary of its founding. Founded in 1737, it is older than Bethlehem, Easton, Allentown, Nazareth and Northampton. The planning for the celebration started three years before, and the idea of a quilt featuring local landmarks and stitched by local hands was born. The work on the quilt stretched from January 6, 1986 to June 14, 1987. The quilt steering committee
consisted of Leona Charrier, Catherine Hahn, Kathleen Kellar and Marjorie Rehrig, chairperson. With the Friendship Tree at center, the quilt has a border of squares done in appliqué and embroidery. Each square represents something in Bath's history. Clockwise from top left the squares represent: Salem’s Church 1870, Main Street Dormer 1839, The Kirche 1834, Fire House 1868,
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By KERI LINDENMUTH Although the purpose of Thursday, May 18’s special council meeting was for Bath residents, the Citizens Police Advisory Panel, the Borough of Bath Council, and the Colonial Regional Police Commission to discuss the future of policing in Bath, the commission was a no-show. Representatives from member municipalities Lower Nazareth Township and Hanover Township were not in attendance. “I am totally disappointed that no one from the commission itself attended,” said Tony Kovalovsky, a member of the police advisory panel and a retired CRPD officer. Mayor Fiorella Mirabito, the commission’s Bath representative and voting member, also expressed disappointment that her fellow municipalities did not come out to this very important meeting. Invitations were sent to the commission on May 8. CRPD Chief Roy Seiple, who was in attendance, said there were “legal reasons” members from the commission did not attend. He tried to answer as many questions as he could during the course of the meeting, something that council and advisory panel members appreciated. However, there were many questions only the commission itself could answer. For example, only the commission can discuss whether it would be open to contracting police services for Bath, or whether the allocation method of the CRPD budget can be changed. Ultimately, the borough must decide whether it wants to stay with the CRPD and raise taxes to keep up with the department’s growing budget, or seek an alternative solu-
tion, such as coverage from Moore Township or the Pennsylvania State Police. However, the borough must keep in mind that, if taxes increase too much, home purchases in the borough will decrease and Bath may cease to exist as an independent borough. It is an extremely difficult decision that is visibly weighing heavily on members of council and the advisory panel. “Bath is at a crossroads,” said Beth Dobis-Beers, member of the advisory panel. “Can we stay and continue having the CRPD take care of us, or is it too expensive?” Later in the meeting, Beers used a vivid metaphor to get the point across. “Can we afford the Bentley, or can we live with the Accord?” she asked. Members of the council and panel have stressed several times that they are not questioning the services of the CRPD. In their eyes, the CRPD is like the Bentley in Beers’s metaphor: high quality and top notch. However, they believe their budget, which has not increased enough to keep up with the CRPD’s, cannot absorb costs without raising taxes on borough residents, who are already facing some of the highest taxes in the county. Borough Manager Brad Flynn explained that infrastructure improvements are suffering because such a large portion of tax dollars are going to the police department (currently, about 23 percent of the borough’s budget goes towards police services). Only seven percent of the borough’s road inventory has been improved, which equals four out of 59 roads. There is also a manContinued on page 6
Bath Lions Team up with Boy Scouts Page 6
Dartball Champs Crowned Page 6
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