The president of Pennsburg Council has a plan to revive regional policing in the Upper Perkiomen Valley. Next month, Patrick Suter hopes to convene a meeting with leadership from at least two neighboring municipalities to discuss the possibilities.
            "It worked before," Suter said following Tuesday's public meeting.
            All six members attending Pennsburg's meeting expressed support for the proposal. According to Suter, all the personalities who facilitated the dissolution of the Upper Perk Police District nine years ago are out of office.
            "It's a new time," Richard DeAngelis said after the meeting.
            The council president claims he and Vice President Keith Goodwin have been working on a plan to reformulate a department covering multiple municipalities.

            According to Suter, returning to that model would improve police coverage. He said members of the Pennsburg police department often leave the borough to assist neighboring departments.

            "I am willing to discuss this with anyone who will listen," Suter said. 
            A return could also save all participating communities money. According to Suter, a regional department would provide significant economy when the Pennsylvania General Assembly passes a law requiring communities to directly pay for state police coverage.
            "It's going to be a huge cost saving for everyone," the council president said.
            Implementation of a regional department could take several years, according to Suter. He claimed that elected officials in Red Hill and East Greenville have agreed to meet with him and Goodwin. Upper Hanover supervisors considered the issue during their most recent meeting.

            "The goal is to bring the community together," Goodwin said after the meeting.
            East Greenville Council voted in September of 2016 to leave the regional department. Nine months later, the department ended a 44-year run, and both municipalities restarted their own departments.
            To avoid the strife and division that led to the regional department's demise, Suter claims his plan includes a third party to settle any disputes. He described it as an in-house mediator.
            In other business, Solicitor Mark Hosterman concluded that council acted improperly when it appointed Giedre Suter as the borough's deputy tax collector. Former council President Diane Stevens claimed the action item was added to the March 10 agenda too close to the meeting date.
            Hosterman said the item will be considered at a future meeting to make sure it is voted on legally. Patrick Suter recused himself from the original vote regarding his wife.

            However, the solicitor rejected another claim by Stevens that council violated the Sunshine Act by not posting the meeting agenda on the borough's website within 24 minutes of the agenda. Administrators claimed the document was posted on the door to the municipal building on Monday night.

             Hosterman concluded that the municipality complied with the law's requirement of meaningful public participation, which was evidenced by a healthy audience. He said it did not require perfect technical compliance. The solicitor said administrators would make every effort moving forward to post the agendas in a timely manner. 

            Member Eileen Fields did not attend the meeting. Twenty-seven minutes into the public portion of the meeting, Suter recessed to hold an executive session. According to Hosterman, the members spent 34 minutes discussing three items: a lawsuit against the borough regarding a 2024 shooting in East Greenville, a proposal by the Unami Friends community to hang a banner and agenda concerns broached by Stevens.

            Council voted to approve street sweeping on June 4-5. It decided to push the event back a week later than usual based on requests from residents, according to DeAngelis, who chairs the borough's roads committee.

            In March, the Upper Perk Police Department provided 755 total calls and services rendered. That includes 274 public services and 130 traffic details.

            The officers handled 98 vehicle investigations, issued 53 traffic citations and 55 warnings. According to information presented by Chief Joe Adam, the department made eight arrests, responded to seven reportable accidents and three non-reportable accidents. The department issued one non-traffic summary citation and responded to one false alarm at a business.

            The department responded to 13 total crimes during the last month. That includes three narcotics violations and three protection order violations, two incidents of forgery/fraud/identity theft, and one each of assault/harassment/stalking, burglary/attempted burglary, public drunkenness/disorderly conduct, theft and trespassing, according to information delivered by Adam.