Lebanon City Council addresses public safety, quality of life issues

Lebanon City Council took its first steps toward adopting a package of measures focused on public safety and quality of life issues at its Sept. 22 meeting.

Before voting on the measures, council observed a moment of silence for the three York County police officers killed in the line of duty last week and for assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

The flurry of legislation, a dozen new or updated ordinances that will become law if approved again in October, is largely designed to bring the city in line with state law, according to Mayor Sherry Capello.

Ten of the 12 ordinances will bring the city into compliance with various aspects of the Pennsylvania Building Code, which is in turn based upon the 2018 International Building Code adopted by the commonwealth. They cover a broad range of topics, from construction to maintenance to mechanical systems in commercial and residential buildings.

The remaining two ordinances address carbon monoxide alarms in rental properties and “specialty tobacco and e-cigarette establishments and hookah establishments.”

All passed unanimously, except for the e-cigarette ordinance, which councilman Sean Maguire opposed.

Keeping minors out of specialty tobacco shops

At the previous Thursday’s pre-council meeting, Capello noted that a number of city businesses legally sell such products to adults, but that their sale to minors is prohibited by state law.

“These businesses are directly or indirectly influencing minor children to acquire and consume these products,” she said. “We believe it’s in the best interests of our citizens and our children to prohibit the sale of tobacco products to minors and to prohibit minors from entering the premises of specialty tobacco and e-cigarette … and hookah establishments.”

The local ordinance would be stricter than the existing state law. “What we’re really trying to accomplish with our ordinance that differs from the state statute,” the mayor said, “is to prohibit minors from entering vape tobacco shops.”

At Maguire’s suggestion, the proposed ordinance was amended to permit minors to enter such establishments if accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Nevertheless, Maguire voted “no” to the amended proposal on Monday, stating “I am of the opinion that the state law is sufficient to punish those that would sell tobacco products to minors in contravention of this commonwealth’s laws. I do not support the public policy idea of prohibiting children from entering establishments of this nature.”

Council passed the measure on first reading by a 4 to 1 vote.

Requirements for police applicants changed

Council unanimously passed a resolution approving relaxed police civil service commission requirements for applicants applying to become Lebanon police officers. The passing score for the department’s written examination was lowered from 80% to 75%.

The mayor and acting police Chief Eric Sims noted that it has become increasingly difficult to attract candidates and keep the department at its authorized number of officers. Surrounding municipalities, including Lancaster, Reading, and Harrisburg, that compete with the city for new officers have already established a 75% pass rate, Sims said.

Sims added that the city police force is a few officers short of its maximum complement, but declined to state the exact number. The LPD announced that it is hiring in a September 23 Crimewatch posting.

The same resolution will alter the physical agility requirements for applicants, including the current running and trigger pull requirements.

In voicing his approval, Maguire noted that “so many qualities of excellent police officers have very little to do with their ability to take a book test” and that the changes will not diminish the quality of the city’s police officers.

Councilman Joseph Morales added that the changes will not alter or eliminate the state’s Act 120 requirements for certifying all municipal police officers.

Suspicious municipal building package update

On Sunday, Sept. 21, at 12:50 p.m., Lebanon police issued a Crimewatch public alert saying only that there was “an active police incident outside the county courthouse. Please adjust your travel accordingly. We will notify you when it is clear. Location 400 S 8th St Lebanon, PA.” Shortly before that alert, WGAL-TV reported a suspicious package at Lebanon Municipal Building, where county courtrooms are located.

The vagueness of the initial LPD alert caused some to speculate on what might be going on, with some wondering if it could be an active shooter, hostage situation, or bomb scare.

Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf clarified the alert and announced an “all clear” hours later, saying that “The Lebanon City Police today responded to a suspicious package. They called in the appropriate assistance from the State Police. When investigated, the package was labeled as sent to a county worker via Amazon. When safe to do so, the police opened the package. It contained personal care items and was deemed wholly safe.”

Asked by LebTown about the initial vagueness of the Crimewatch alert, Sims said he could see how its lack of any specifics could have caused public anxiety. “I can accept that, yeah,” he said Monday evening.

Sims told LebTown that “initially how that all worked was that we knew there was a package there. We didn’t actually deem it as suspicious yet. Until we could make that determination, we set up a perimeter for everybody’s safety … and at that time I put out a message that said ‘just avoid the courthouse.’

“As more time went on and more investigation occurred, we determined that the package was suspicious. There were some other things that were kind of concerning about it.

“There was a handwritten letter on the box that said ‘open on this date’. When we go back and look at it, it could have potentially have meant ‘open on Monday,’ meaning when the courthouse reopens on Monday.”

Other business

• Capello reported that through Aug. 31, with the fiscal year 67% complete, city receipts and expenditures were at 81% and 55%, respectively, of 2025 budget projections.
• Council recognized Friends of All Animals, a local no-kill, nonprofit animal rescue organization that has for over 25 years raised money for the city’s K9 police dogs. Founder Gloria Pushnik was present to hand the city a check to fund a heat alarm system in the police department’s K9 vehicle to protect dogs from accidental heat-related injuries if left unattended.

Next Lebanon City Council meetings

City Council’s next pre-council planning meeting will be on Thursday, Oct. 23, at 4:45 p.m. The next regular monthly council meeting will be on Monday, Oct. 27, at 6:30 p.m.

Both meetings are open to the public and will be held in the City Hall multi-purpose room, 735 Cumberland St., first floor, Lebanon. Meetings are also streamed live on YouTube here.