Council Wants Awareness of Rail Trail Events

Special events will eventually be held on the in Hellertown and Lower Saucon Township, but who will have the final say about what is approved is still under discussion.

Hellertown Borough Council recently rejected a special event form drafted by the Saucon Rail Trail Oversight Commission--the multi-municipal board that oversees the trail's use and includes representatives from the borough, as well as both Lower and Upper Saucon townships.

In so doing, several council members expressed concerns about losing a say in the events approval process.

"What if they don't like something that we're OK with?" council president Phil Weber asked.

"We're taking it out of council's hands and turning it over to someone else," he added.

Councilman Tom Rieger observed that the trail passes through the "very busy" , which hosts the popular  on Sunday mornings from early May through late November.

"If you're going to have a big race, it's going to affect what else can go on in that park," he said.

And unlike special events, the farmers' market doesn't have the freedom to choose its own location.

"That's their home," Rieger said of the park.

Expressing an opposing point of view, council vice president John Bate questioned why the trail commission was created in the first place, if council intend to oversee the approval of things such as special events.

"Here we are micromanaging," he said.

Bate also commented that if individual councils want to approve special events separately, borough council, Lower Saucon Township Council and the Upper Saucon Township Board of Supervisors will all need to give their blessing--in addition to the rail trail commission itself--before an event can be held.

Councilwoman Gail Nolf said she would like to see borough council kept in the loop, prior to the approval of any special events, so that council can ensure that there aren't conflicting events scheduled.

A motion for borough manager Cathy Kichline to return to the rail trail oversight commission with a request for a special event form that will keep council apprised of special events, pre-approval, was approved unanimously.

Council said it will reconsider the special event form in the future.