'A political stunt': Hellertown officials say ample time could lead to amends with Lower Saucon

• Hellertown officials decided Monday to not agree to the terms listed in a recent Lower Saucon proposal regarding library access and more
• The borough administration said the community should be looking out for an official statement within a week
• Lower Saucon council meets at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4

HELLERTOWN, Pa. — The showdown between Hellertown and Lower Saucon seemed to continue Monday, as Hellertown Borough Council denied a recent proposal from the township with an assortment of requests regarding library access and more.

Hellertown had been requested to offer a response no later than Oct. 12, according to Lower Saucon.

In the meantime, borough officials said this would make for a good time to update the public on the situation at hand, as some may be misguided as November elections are approaching.

Hellertown Council voted unanimously to work on a letter to the community providing an update on its position regarding Lower Saucon's recent proposal on the library, Saucon Valley Compost Center, Hellertown Pool and more.

That letter should be shared with the public in the next week, officials said.

Council commentary

Hellertown's administration said the offer letter from Lower Saucon was explicitly directed to the borough government, while instead just carbon copied to the library administration.

Councilman Matt Marcincin, library representative on the panel, said Hellertown Area Library (HAL) is its own independent 501(c)(3) — a group gaining IRS tax exemption because of its charitable programs — therefore the borough administration couldn’t act on the proposal as stated.

Some on council said that while they didn’t see the offer as fair as presented, they’re looking to meet the township halfway and have been for some time.

“The way that the offer has been presented to us, it is a ‘Take all of this or none of this,’” Councilwoman Liz Thompson said. “I think Hellertown Borough Council has been very transparent in our attempts to work with Lower Saucon Council over the last two years.”

Councilman Earl Hill said the additional requests on the proposal, including offers to buy the Saucon Valley Compost Center and more, seemed like Lower Saucon was “trying to put a gun to your head.”

He and Hellertown Mayor David Heintzelman said that since Lower Saucon has its elections just around the corner, township voters should be on guard.

“This is nothing but a political stunt; I’m sorry, that’s where I’m at,” Hill said. “There’s no way to not reject this, and hope people understand what they’re really trying to do here is trying to get independent people that are undecided as to what’s going on over there.”

Heintzelman said, “I do agree that this was politically motivated. And politics aside, we need to come together and we do need to work together — but not under time constraints or the language that was provided.”

Councilwoman Theresa Fadem said she would have to ultimately vote against accepting the offer.

"As much as I would love to mend the fences between Lower Saucon Township and Hellertown Borough, I just can't see accepting this as it is, this offer," Fadem said. "I think we have a long road ahead of us.

"I appreciate the gesture, but I'd have to say no."

Courtesy

/

Lower Saucon Township

Comments from the public

Beth Bloss, a member of HAL’s board of directors, said some people she’s spoken with aren’t brushed up on the ins and outs of the offer.

She said she wasn’t speaking on behalf of the library on Monday, but was looking to represent “all the local, normal people that live in the world.”

“My concern is, unless there is a rebuttal or a written statement of everything you just said, all Lower Saucon looks like they’re wonderful, wonderful people — and that’s a lie,” Bloss said to council.

“So people need to know what you just talked about.”

Lower Saucon resident Phil Spohn, pastor at Christ Lutheran Church of Hellertown, asked council if it could take what’s at hand and go on the offensive.

“I’m just wondering if whether or not there’s something that this board could do to throw an olive branch out, as small as it might be,” Spohn said.

Councilman Andrew Hughes replied that the library board was originally meant to be built “as a marriage” between Hellertown and Lower Saucon, but Hellertown isn’t in a position to reasonably trust Lower Saucon after the past couple of years.

He also said the proposal wasn't "time sensitive."

Some of the issues at hand stem back to the township owing $90,000 in library funding, he said.

“You want to talk about a gesture of goodwill, maybe Lower Saucon should pay the bill and then we can talk further,” Hughes said.

He said the funding would cover HAL services from 2022 for Lower Saucon residents, following a state decision for the library to continue serving the township through that year’s end.

One current concern expressed by Lower Saucon officials is their lack of current representation on the library board of directors.

Hughes said that proportional control of the board has been a topic of discussion in the past, but Lower Saucon officials at one point wanted the deal to be 50-50 across municipalities.

Ken Bloss, Hellertown resident and Lower Saucon property owner, said people need to pay attention to the “window dressing” happening in the township prior to an election and the “real elephant in the room”: efforts to expand the nearby Bethlehem Landfill.

He referenced the $826,000 Steel City paving project and $1.88 million Easton Road Ball Field project.

“It’s like bottling fog,” Bloss said. “Get it in a bottle and it disappears.

“You think you’re working with Lower Saucon on this issue, and then it changes and disappears.”

Hellertown resident Jayne Shinko said HAL’s money is getting thin, and the borough administration may need to look at ways to help fund it or assist in finding a donor.

If HAL closes its doors, it’d cause the borough to lose its hometown library, leaving residents without access to all of its offerings and other public resources through state programming, she said.

More background

Hellertown proposed a library agreement to Lower Saucon back in 2021, which was slated for five years and valued around $500,000.

Lower Saucon officials ended up rejecting that in 2022 and instead offered a $50,000 donation to HAL to cover some services — which was rejected — and threatened to sue if the township was removed from the library’s service area.

This past December, HAL announced it would no longer be able to serve Lower Saucon residents as it had in the past.

Other attempts at an agreement have failed.

The Office of Commonwealth Libraries at one point also approved a request from HAL that Lower Saucon be removed from its service area.

HAL had an Oct. 1 deadline to potentially include Lower Saucon as part of its service area in the State Aid Library Subsidy Application.

Lower Saucon residents currently can pay for a library card for use at HAL, with limited services compared with Hellertown residents.

Library officials said township residents can check out anything from the library collection, but can’t access interlibrary loans or use Cloud-access programming.

Lower Saucon offers its residents a reimbursement program to cover the costs of individual and family library cards.

Landfill litigation

Also Monday, council unanimously approved to step away from its August decision to involve itself in the legal fight against the Bethlehem Landfill.