{"id":299264,"date":"2026-10-03T20:32:25","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T20:32:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/299264\/"},"modified":"2026-10-03T20:32:25","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T20:32:25","slug":"hellertown-heintzelman-temporarily-out-seeks-parade-help-saucon-source","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/299264\/","title":{"rendered":"Hellertown: Heintzelman Temporarily Out, Seeks Parade Help \u2013 Saucon Source"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mayor David Heintzelman told Hellertown Borough Council at last week\u2019s meeting that an upcoming medical procedure would require him to temporarily turn over his duties to Council President Lynley Solt. He also asked residents to help with the upcoming Hellertown Halloween Parade<\/a>, which he said he would be unable to attend.<\/p>\n

\"Heintzelman\"Hellertown Mayor David Heintzelman, speaking at a Hellertown-Lower Saucon Chamber of Commerce event in 2025. (FILE PHOTO)<\/p>\n

\u201cI will try my very best to get back as soon as I can,\u201d Heintzelman added.<\/p>\n

Heintzelman said his recovery would take time, and he didn\u2019t give a return date.<\/p>\n

He told council Solt would assume the mayor\u2019s duties during his absence<\/a>, with the council vice president filling in if she were unavailable. He also said he would give up his mayoral salary while unable to work.<\/p>\n

Mayor Seeks Parade Help<\/p>\n

As for the parade, Heintzelman said three people had emailed offering to help, and several previous volunteers were willing to return. He asked others to contact the borough rather than him so a volunteer list could be assembled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m asking for patience. I\u2019m asking for help, please, because this has been my baby for too many years and I don\u2019t want it to go awry,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Memorial Garden Fees Waived<\/p>\n

Council approved waiving permit and inspection fees estimated at $1,200 to $1,600 for a private memorial garden at 630 Linden Ave. Council Vice President Larry O\u2019Donnell said the Kaufman family planned the garden at their home site, where a tragic fire occurred several years ago<\/a>.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Donnell said the Planning Commission recommended the waiver and that the garden would be for the family, not a large public venue. Zoning and Codes Officer Terri Fadem said the anticipated work included a fence, fountain and pergola, along with sidewalk, electrical and plumbing permits.<\/p>\n

Police Pension Option Approved\u00a0<\/p>\n

Council adopted the 2027 police pension funding option with a 0 percent member contribution rate after reviewing it against a 2 percent alternative. State aid is expected to cover the borough\u2019s approximately $86,367 minimum municipal obligation under the selected option.<\/p>\n

The pension fund\u2019s actuary explained that because the plan was overfunded, officer contributions would reduce the state aid needed to meet the obligation. Based on the projections presented, neither option would require a borough contribution beyond state aid.<\/p>\n

Sidewalk Funding, Parking Changes<\/p>\n

Council authorized a $310,460 grant request for sidewalk improvements along Cherry Lane and Easton Road. Borough Engineer Bryan Smith said the request would cover part of a larger project, including stormwater work and pedestrian improvements such as crosswalks.<\/p>\n

Smith said the proposed work would begin connecting sidewalks from Cherry Lane around the corner onto Easton Road. He said the funding could help support applications for additional phases.<\/p>\n

Council also authorized the solicitor to prepare and advertise parking-ordinance changes for Kichline Avenue. The proposal would establish no-parking stretches on the north side extending 60 feet west from Franklin Street and on the south side extending 270 feet west from Main Street.<\/p>\n

Smith said parked vehicles near Franklin Street were obstructing drivers\u2019 view of approaching traffic. Council did not adopt the ordinance amendment at this meeting.<\/p>\n

Police Radios & Salary Bump<\/p>\n

Borough Manager Cathy Hartranft announced a $125,000 grant for police radios. Chief James Baitinger said the anticipated total was about $161,000 and that the borough was awaiting word on another grant.<\/p>\n

Council also approved a $2,000 salary increase for Finance Manager Lisa Carl, retroactive to June 1.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The next Hellertown Borough Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. Meetings are held at Hellertown Borough Hall, 685 Main St., Hellertown, and livestreamed online<\/a>. Agendas are shared on the borough\u2019s website <\/a>in advance. Meetings are open to the public.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mayor David Heintzelman told Hellertown Borough Council at last week\u2019s meeting that an upcoming medical procedure would require…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":299265,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120,16129,8453,146,204,123415,26860,84,10495,123416,5541],"class_list":["post-299264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news","tag-borough-council","tag-david-heintzelman","tag-grant","tag-hellertown","tag-kichline-avenue","tag-leave","tag-mayor","tag-meeting","tag-memorial-garden","tag-parking"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299264"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299264\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/299265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}