Werner Road Truck Ban Gets Final Nod in Lower Nazareth

The Lower Nazareth Board of Supervisors on Wednesday approved an ordinance that bans trucks on Werner Road and on a handful of other roads.

The Lower Nazareth Board of Supervisors on Wednesday gave the final nod needed to ban trucks on Werner Road. Solicitor Gary Asteak drafted the ordinance, which the Upper Nazareth Board of Supervisors will likely approve on March 20, Asteak said. Werner Road—like Asteak—is shared by the two townships. The ordinance also bans trucks on Route 248 to Prologis Parkway; Georgetown Road from Hanoverville Road to Newburg Road; Hanoverville Road from Route 191 to Georgetown Road, and Steuben Road from Township Line Road to Route 191. Asteak also amended an existing Lower Nazareth ordinance to restrict truck traffic 9,000 pounds or more in gross vehicle weight. Any trucker in violation will receive $75 to $150 in fines plus $150 for every 500 pounds…

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Former Lower Nazareth Supervisor Charged in Prostitution Sting

Alan V. Dilsaver, 56, a Palmer Township dentist and former Lower Nazareth Township supervisor, was among the five men and one woman charged in a prostitution sting, according to Colonial Regional Police.

Former Lower Nazareth Supervisor Charged in Prostitution Sting

Alan V. Dilsaver, 56, a Palmer Township dentist and former Lower Nazareth Township supervisor, was among the five men and one woman charged in a prostitution sting, according to Colonial Regional Police.

A former Lower Nazareth Township supervisor was among the five men and one woman charged in a police-orchestrated prostitution sting at a cooperating Hanover Township, Northampton County hotel, according to a press release issued Monday by Colonial Regional Police. Police say Alan V. Dilsaver, 56, of the 300 block of Hillview Drive, Lower Nazareth, answered an Internet advertisement on Dec. 14 and offered an undercover Northampton County Sheriff’s deputy money for sexual acts.  Dilsaver, the dentist at Lehigh Valley Smiles in Palmer Township, has been practicing dentistry since 1983. According to www.lehighvalleysmiles.com, Dilsaver was elected to the Lower Nazareth Board of Supervisors in 1998 and appointed chairman in 2000. He is no …

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Lower Nazareth Supervisors Approve 2013 Budget, Taxes Hold Steady

The Lower Nazareth Board of Supervisors unanimously approves the proposed $3.5 million budget for 2013 -- the third consecutive year without a tax increase.

For the third consecutive year, the Lower Nazareth Board of Supervisors had the opportunity to approve a budget that included a decrease. The proposed $3,571,210 budget for 2013, which is $188,290 less than the township's 2012 budget, was unanimously approved Wednesday night, with the property tax rate holding steady. The budget was available to the public for 20 days, according to township Manager Timm Tenges, and there were no comments or objections. Supervisors thanked Tenges for his efforts to reduce spending and hold the line on taxes. This is noteworthy, the board agreed, because there was a rise in the Colonial Regional Police Department budget. The township has learned to do more with less, Tenges explained. A few cost-saving …

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Lower Nazareth: Not Enough Time to Consider Nazareth Police Coverage

The Lower Nazareth Board of Supervisors says it does not have enough time to properly consider adding Nazareth Borough to Colonial Regional Police Department's coverage area.

With less than a month to mull and draft a proposal, the Lower Nazareth Board of Supervisors says there is insufficient time to properly consider adding Nazareth Borough to Colonial Regional Police Department's coverage area. "It’s too fast and there are too many details to consider," said Vice Chairman Robert Kucsan during a meeting Wednesday night. "If I have to say now, I say no. I don’t know if it’s a good deal." Nazareth Borough Council approved a motion Dec. 3 to revisit contracting police services from a neighboring municipality. Nazareth wants an outside source to provide police services and asked six municipalities -- three of which make up Colonial Regional Police -- if they were interested. The deadline to reply is Dec. 31. "…

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Upper Nazareth Agrees to Help Stop Werner Road Trucks

The Upper Nazareth Board of Supervisors has agreed to help pay for an engineering and traffic study for Werner Road, which residents say is plagued by oversized trucks trying to maneuver sharp turns.

About five months after the Upper Nazareth Board of Supervisors rejected a request to help pay for an engineering and traffic study for Werner Road, which was the scene of a landscape hit-and-run, the township has had a change of heart. According to a motion unanimously approved Wednesday night: If Lower Nazareth Township is still interested in splitting the cost, the engineer for both townships, Al Kortze, is authorized to move forward with the engineering and traffic study. According to a Werner Road homeowner, some truck drivers heading toward East Allen Township via Newburg Road are getting lost. Others, meanwhile, are using Werner Road because they can't maneuver the sharp right-turn swing from Gun Club Road.  "[Werner Road] enters …

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Lower Nazareth's Proposed 2013 Budget Includes $200,000 Decrease

Despite rising costs for police services and plans for a new municipal complex, the proposed 2013 budget for Lower Nazareth Township is $200,000 less than this year's plan; taxes expected to hold steady.

For the third consecutive year, the Lower Nazareth Board of Supervisors had the opportunity to stare down a proposed $200,000 budget decrease. According to township Manager Timm Tenges, the proposed $3,571,210 budget for 2013 is $188,290 less than the township's 2012 budget. That means, Tenges added, property taxes are expected to hold steady. Despite a revenue stream that began to level off around 2010, Tenges reassured the board Wednesday that the proposed budget also takes the following into consideration: “We’ve learned to do more with less,” Tenges said, adding that in addition to waiting to buy new equipment, township employees have been proactive. For example, he said, employees bypass a contractor and haul their own trash -- saving…

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Lower Nazareth to Address Retail Thefts, Drain on Police Resources

Rather than patrolling the community, officers are spending more time handling retail thefts, according to the Colonial Regional Police Commission; Lower Nazareth Township is now taking steps to address the problem.

Shoplifters in the commercial hub near Routes 33 and 248 in Lower Nazareth Township have more than loss-prevention staff taking notice. The Lower Nazareth Board of Supervisors on Sept. 26 gave township manager Timm Tenges permission to pursue the formation of a committee, the sole purpose of which will be to address concerns over the drain of police resources perpetuated by retail thefts. According to Supervisors Chairman Eric Nagle, the Colonial Regional Police Commission is concerned that its officers are spending less time patrolling the community. On average, Nagle added, one retail theft incident takes about 90 minutes to handle. “I want to understand why it takes [90 minutes],” Tenges said. "It would be helpful to understand the …

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Lower Nazareth Adopts Rain Garden Maintenance Agreement

The Lower Nazareth Board of Supervisors gives a green thumbs-up to a rain garden maintenance agreement that will allow property owners to redirect stormwater runoff.

Lower Nazareth residents -- and administration -- are thinking green. The township's Supervisors on Wednesday unanimously approved a new operations and maintenance agreement, which is in anticipation of property owners seeking a green solution to stormwater runoff: rain gardens. Under the new agreement, property owners proposing a rainwater management area will perpetually be responsible for maintenance. In addition, owners understand the township has the right to and will enforce maintenance. A rain garden -- similar to a water retention pond -- is a planted depression that allows rainwater to run off buildings, downspouts, driveways and parking lots into a planted depression. The rainwater is then gradually absorbed into the ground. By …

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