Alisher Aminov
The Lebanon City Council met Monday to vote on a resolution to recognize the life and sacrifice of Lt. William Lebo, vote to dispose of old department documents, and vote to add two new crosswalk lights on Liberty and Chapel Streets.
Mayor Sherry Capello began the City Council meeting by giving the Council the most recent budget report.
Capello said the city is 25% through this budget year, has collected 23% of estimated taxes, and has spent approximately 17% of expenditures. She also said that the city has not yet agreed on the fireman’s employment contract.
The City Council reviewed a resolution to express sorrow and recognize the life, commitment, and sacrifice of Police Lt. William Lebo, who, after 40 years of dedicated service, died in the line of duty on March 31st. Council Chairperson Joe Morales, read the full resolution before the Council and the public before personally expressing his condolences to the police department.
Capello said, “Our hearts go out to the family.”
The Council passed two resolutions to dispose of additional documents from the current Lebanon municipal building in anticipation of the city government’s move at the beginning of May.
Capello said the documents are coming from the Administration and Public Works Departments. She said that most of the documents are at least 10-years-old.
The Council reviewed and passed a resolution for the city government to apply with the PA Department of Transportation to install traffic lights at the Liberty and Chapel Street Crosswalks.
Capello said that many people driving by these crosswalks do not stop for people to cross the street, and these streetlights intend to better alert drivers. She said funding for the lights would come through the city’s streetscaping initiative.
Capello said the lights would blend in with the “Victorian posts” currently located downtown to keep with the aesthetic.
Finally, the City Council reviewed and passed a resolution to install three new streetlights and replace one old in the vicinity of North Liberty and Spring Streets. Capello said that Met-ed would pay for the lights.
Several attendees in the meeting, along with multiple members of the Council, raised the concern of “light pollution” as a result of the brighter LED lights that the city will be installing.
City resident Craig Gates said he is worried that the new streetlights will be considerably brighter than the original ones and, as a result, will shine into his house during the night.
Morales said that the intersection by his house recently changed streetlights, and the brightness of the lights bleeds into his home, causing a disturbance during the night.
Capello said that the city purposely uses different streetlights depending on the location and that they intend to use lights with a lower wattage in residential areas to prevent any inconvenience.
The City Council will reconvene on May 18th at 4:45 p.m. in the new municipal building located at 735 Cumberland St. All City Council meetings are open for public attendance.
Author: Amaury Abreu
