East Greenville council votes unanimously to approve measure

            East Greenville Council approved an ordinance amending parking regulations on Jefferson Street near the Upper Perkiomen 4th & 5th Grade Center at Monday night's meeting. The members voted unanimously to allow only school buses to drop off and pick up students on the street during the morning and afternoon rush hours when the 2021-22 school year begins.

            Beginning July 1, stopping, standing and parking on the street will be prohibited weekdays from 7 to 9 a.m. and 2 to 4 p.m. Parent pickup will occur only in the rear of the school.

            Only school buses will be permitted to stop on the street during those hours. Enforcing the ordinance will be relatively easy for the borough's police department, according to Solicitor Michael Peters.

            Council President Angie Fegely said the ordinance is necessary to alleviate congestion at and around the school. She noted after the meeting that individual student drop off and pick up has created traffic issues that spill onto 6th Street.

            In April of 2020, Peters sent a letter to the Upper Perkiomen School Board, on behalf of the borough council, requesting the implementation of a drop off ban on Jefferson Street for the start of the current school year.

            Fegely explained after Monday's meeting that council sent a similar letter to the school board soon after the school returned to four-day, in-person learning early last month. She said municipal officials are still noticing similar parking backups.

            "The issue has not been addressed," Fegely said after the meeting.

            In other news, council voted unanimously to officially disband its Civil Service commission, which would be necessary to hire a full-time police officer. Joshua Halteman is the department's only full-time officer.  Last month, council voted to advertise the ordinance. Melissa Leinbach cast the lone vote in opposition.

            According to Fegely the commission, which would have required three appointments to continue, is unnecessary because municipal officials have no plans to hire a full-time officer for the Borough of East Greenville Police Department. She said during the April 7 meeting that the current budget permits only the hiring of part-time officers.

            In April, the Borough of East Greenville Police Department responded to 128 total incidents, according to a monthly activity report posted on a bulletin board at Borough Hall. The officers responded to 46 traffic incidents, 14 for public safety, seven assists, four disorderly conducts, three thefts, two accidents and 52 incidents identified as other, according to information collected by Chief Randy Morris.