Lewisburg committee weighs strategic planning, safety policy updates, public works issues

Lewisburg officials spent the morning of May 1 weighing the kinds of decisions that spill quickly onto borough streets, from Memorial Day parade detours to new safety policies for public employees. The Administration-Finance-Public Safety Committee met at 8:30 a.m. in Borough Council Chambers with Jamie Grobes chairing, while Borough Manager William Lowthert, Borough Secretary Kathy Wendt and Mayor Kendy Alvarez were listed on the meeting page.

The most immediate item for downtown movement was the American Legion’s request for a road closure for the Memorial Day Parade, along with permission for the borough to send the required support letter to PennDOT. That annual step has surfaced in borough business before, including in 2024 and 2025, underscoring that Lewisburg’s holiday parade depends on formal traffic approvals before streets can be blocked and vehicles rerouted through the borough’s compact business district.

The committee’s agenda also showed longer-range decisions moving in parallel. Members were set to consider draft request-for-proposal language for strategic planning services tied to a study that council had already budgeted at $30,000 in January from the HRA Fund. Borough records show the planning effort was not meant as an isolated exercise; officials had already discussed the focus for the 2026 Borough Council Strategic Planning Study before any RFP was released.

Safety policy changes were also on the table. The draft agenda included an updated drug-and-alcohol policy for CDL drivers and an addendum to the borough safety manual, both signs that Lewisburg was tightening rules for the people who operate public works and other municipal vehicles. The committee also was asked to allow Leanne Grandin to use the Lewisburg Tri-globe Streetlight image in bookmarks, a small but familiar nod to the borough’s public identity.

Beyond those items, the May agenda sketched out a crowded second half of 2026. May was reserved for a Comprehensive Safety Action Plan presentation by Kittelson, June for the Wolfe Field Master Site Development Plan, July for parking discussion and September for a meeting with municipal auditors from J.H. Williams & Co., LLC. Old-business items were just as practical: a roof replacement is needed on the Public Works Equipment Storage and Salt Storage Building on North Fifth Street, a code-violation and complaint reporting system remains under discussion, the council chamber video and audio system has already been approved at $15,000, and participatory budgeting is still being considered at $10,000.

The committee also revisited the size of the LAJSA board, a possible food-truck ordinance and support for Union County’s America 250th anniversary planning. In a borough that describes itself as the county seat of Union County and a historic community on the Susquehanna River, the agenda showed officials trying to keep parade logistics, worker safety, public works upkeep and long-term planning moving at the same time.