Insurance Questions Dominate Meeting

A popular summer concert series was the impetus for a discussion about insurance and shared liability at Hellertown Borough Council's Feb. 22 meeting.

Dr. Susan Ackermann, who leads the group that sponsors the series, came before council to question the borough's mandate that she sign an indemnification clause in order to proceed with organizing the concerts in Dimmick Park.

Ackermann said she has used her business's insurance to cover the Second Sunday Concerts in the Park series, but as a "sole proprietorship business" feared that signing the indemnification clause would threaten her with the possibility of "financial ruin."

Ackermann indicated that the indemnification language was problematic for her because it seemed to make her non-profit group, the Hellertown Enhancement Project (HEP), the primary financially responsible party in the event of an injury or other untoward event happening at one of the concerts.

"I'm not a corporation. I'm doing this individually, so I'm responsible," she told Borough Council Solicitor Michael Corriere, who argued in favor of her signing the indemnity portion of the contract.

Corriere told Ackermann he'd like to see her insurance contract, to better understand it and the language it contains.

"That's a standard clause that comes out with the contract," councilman John Bate said to Ackermann. "I've been signing it for years for the (Dewey Fire Company) carnival."

"It is true that we always require people to sign these. We like them to be signed," added Corriere.

Ackermann countered that the indemnity clause takes some of the financial responsibility off the borough, which in light of her insurance situation, she continued to question.

"What you're asking me to do then, is to additionally insure you," she said.

Council member Gail Nolf questioned why the popular three-part concert series is not a borough-sponsored event at this point.

"I never really thought of this as somebody's event," she said. "Why is it not considered a borough event?"

Nolf ultimately made a motion to have Corriere check with the borough's insurance company to find out what impact the lack of a signature from Ackermann on the indemnity clause could have on the borough's coverage, if any.

Borough Council also decided to investigate the possibility of making the Second Sunday series a borough-sponsored event.

"I'd be happy to make it a borough event," Ackermann stated, adding that the City of Bethlehem has a "large umbrella (insurance) policy" to cover the hundreds of acts that perform at Musikfest each summer.

"I think that's what we nee to work toward," Nolf added.

The free Second Sunday concerts are held in June, July and August and typically draw hundreds of borough residents to Dimmick Park for performances by local and regional artists.

Past performers have included Chico's Vibe and the Bethlehem Municipal Band.