Hellertown council debates sidewalks, files grant, sets summer events
Council authorized advertisement of a rewrite to Chapter 385 and filed a state grant application for ADA-compliant sidewalks and stormwater work, while residents pressed officials over recent sidewalk repairs and late-summer event dates were set.
Borough sidewalks once again took center stage at the July 6 Hellertown Borough Council meeting.
Council also approved a state grant application for pedestrian and stormwater upgrades at Cherry Lane and Easton Road while ironing out late-summer event dates.
Hellertown Sidewalk Saga Continues
Resident Chip Wagner returned to press council on Right-to-Know findings he said show the borough failed to follow its own Chapter 385 procedures and Title II of the ADA in sidewalk work near the intersection of Juniper and Birch roads.
Wagner opened by noting the three compliance questions he submitted at the June 15 meeting had not been placed on the July 6 agenda despite his request, and re-read the findings into the record.
“At 501 Birch Road, the borough confirmed in writing that the public sidewalk was milled and replaced with zero permit applications, zero permits issued and zero inspections performed,” Wagner said. “Simply duplicating outdated 1960s dimensions.”
He said at an address in the 800 block of Juniper Road, “the borough actively signed off on the contractor’s proposal, squeezing a brand new public walkway down to a restrictive 36 inches despite this being a wide-open corner lot with zero physical barriers or engineering justification to do so.”
Wagner argued that in both cases the borough “bypassed the borough engineer, ignored Chapter 385-14 of your own borough code and skipped the mandatory review and vote required by the council.” Wagner added the absence of an ADA-compliant curb ramp at the intersection leaves wheelchair users stranded.
He also revisited a comment from the June 15 meeting in which Council member Gail Nolf suggested portions of the asphalt sidewalk in the area were ”grandfathered.”
“I said, ‘I think they are grandfathered,'” Nolf said.
“The public record for Title Two of ADA does not recognize grandfathered clauses for new alterations,” Wagner said. “The moment a contractor is permitted to mill, replace or structurally alter a public walkway, the borough has a strict legal obligation to trigger modern accessibility in PennDOT design upgrades. You cannot actively authorize brand-new construction and claim it’s grandfathered to the 1960s.”
Solicitor Michael Corriere advised that Zoning and Codes Enforcement Officer Terri Fadem address Wagner’s concerns in her next monthly report. Council President Lynley Solt agreed to have the response placed in Fadem’s next monthly report and forwarded directly to Wagner.
Later in the meeting, and against the backdrop of Wagner’s comments, council authorized the advertising of Ordinance 864, a rewrite of Chapter 385 of the borough code; the same chapter Wagner had cited by section number moments earlier.
Authorization to advertise is a procedural step, not adoption. It clears the borough to run the required legal notice so the ordinance can be considered for adoption at a future meeting.
The ordinance, prepared under Pennsylvania Borough Code Sections 1201 and 1202, would revise Chapter 385 to update the borough’s regulation of excavation and repair work on borough streets, sidewalk repairs and the associated permit-fee schedule.
Borough Manager Cathy Hartranft credited a working group that included Borough Engineer Bryan Smith, council member Michael McKenna, Fadem and Public Works Director Barry Yonney with the revisions.
The motion carried.
Cherry Lane and Easton Road Grant Application Filed
Council followed the Ordinance 864 vote with passage of Resolution 2026-10, formally authorizing an application to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development’s Multimodal Transportation Fund for pedestrian, accessibility and stormwater upgrades at Cherry Lane and Easton Road.
Hartranft told council the project scope covers ADA-compliant sidewalks, curb ramps, stormwater upgrades and enhanced crosswalks; improvements aimed at, in the resolution’s language, expanding “safe, accessible mobility for residents of all ages and abilities.”
Council President Lynley Solt noted the borough has previously submitted grant applications for the same area–which is around a busy T intersection–through PennDOT’s Multimodal Transportation Fund, and has not yet received an award.
Smith confirmed the borough submitted to the PennDOT program and is still awaiting notice, and clarified that Resolution 2026-10 is aimed at the separate DCED/Commonwealth Financing Authority side of the Multimodal program–a distinct application track with its own matching requirements.
In effect, the borough now has two live applications targeting the same corridor from two different pots of state money.
Upcoming Hellertown Events
National Night Out will be held Tuesday, Aug. 4 from 5 to 8 p.m. at Dimmick Park. The police department is still accepting donations for the event, with contributions of $25 up to $1,000 welcomed. Interested contributors can email Police Chief James Baitinger via the borough website.
Mayor David Heintzelman told the room a dunk tank is planned again this year, and — in his telling — the police chief is expected to take a turn in the seat.
Hellertown Community Day is set for Saturday, Aug. 15 at Dimmick Park, with the opening ceremony at 9:45 a.m., vendors starting at 10 a.m. and live music from Triple Dog Dare at 12:30 p.m. A full schedule and vendor information is posted on the Hellertown Community Day Facebook page.
The next Hellertown Borough Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, July 20 at Borough Hall.