St. Lawrence Moves to Create Its Own Municipal Authority

St. Lawrence Borough is creating its own municipal authority, a separate public agency whose stated purposes include sewer, stormwater, a public water system, roads and public works. Council plans to adopt the ordinance creating it, Ordinance 464, after a public hearing on Nov. 12, according to a legal notice published Oct. 8 in the Berks County Law Journal.

A municipal authority is a separate public body that a town creates under Pennsylvania's Municipality Authorities Act, the law the notice cites, with its own board.

What the authority would do

The notice lists the authority's purpose as planning and operating "for the general purposes of the Borough, including but not limited to the municipal stormwater system, sanitary sewer system, public water system, roads, infrastructure, and public works department." It does not say which of those services the borough plans to move to the authority first, or whether any rates would change. The borough's September treasurer's report on the Oct. 8 agenda lists a sewer fund but no water fund.

The notice names the five people who would serve as the first board members, with staggered terms starting the first Monday of January 2027:

• Robert Gasston, one year
• Joseph Ravert, two years
• Dave Eggert, three years
• Michael Fritz, four years
• Robert J. May, five years

May is council president, Eggert is vice president and Fritz is a council member, according to the Oct. 8 council agenda.

How it got here

Council's Sept. 10 agenda carried a motion to approve publishing a notice of the borough's intention to form the authority. The minutes of that meeting were on the Oct. 8 agenda for approval and have not been posted. In the solicitor's report on the Oct. 8 agenda, the borough says the notice ran in the Law Journal on Oct. 8, a newspaper advertisement would follow Oct. 9 and the articles of incorporation, the paperwork that registers the authority with the state, would be filed with the Pennsylvania Secretary of State on Oct. 9. The legal notice says the articles will be filed on or before Oct. 12.

The Mt. Penn water fight

St. Lawrence is served by the Mount Penn Borough Municipal Authority, which provides water to Mt. Penn, Lower Alsace, St. Lawrence and part of Exeter Township. Mount Penn Borough has been moving to take control of that system. On Sept. 2, Mount Penn council's special meeting agenda carried a public hearing on incorporating a new municipal authority and consideration of Ordinance 916, "Creating Mount Penn Authority." Mount Penn has not posted minutes showing the outcome. In August, St. Lawrence council voted to ask a court to let it join the legal fight over the system. Our report on the Mt. Penn water dispute explains what is at stake for ratepayers.

The legal notice does not mention Mount Penn or the water dispute, and the borough has not said whether its new authority is connected to it. St. Lawrence's August minutes describe its litigation as being "with Mt. Penn Borough and Mt. Penn Water Authority." The Oct. 8 agenda listed a closed-door executive session on "ongoing litigation" without naming the case.

Also on the Oct. 8 agenda

Council's Oct. 8 agenda asked it to vote on advertising Ordinance 465, a quality-of-life ordinance. The agenda says it would set property maintenance violations covering the buildup and disposal of trash, ban putting indoor furniture outdoors, address feral cats and create a system of tickets and fines. Advertising is the step before a final vote. The borough has not yet posted the outcome of the Oct. 8 meeting.

The agenda also asked council to split $11,086.98 in state foreign fire insurance money equally between the Mt. Penn and Exeter volunteer firefighters' relief associations, $5,543.49 each, and to approve its 2026 contributions, including $9,460 to the library. Budget meetings are set for Oct. 28 and Nov. 2, from 10 a.m. to noon.

When and how to weigh in

The hearing on the authority is set for Nov. 12 at 6:30 p.m. at the Borough Municipal Building, 135 N. Prospect St. Council's regular meetings are held there at 7:30 p.m. and streamed on the borough's YouTube channel. The notice says residents can read the full proposed ordinance and articles of incorporation at the borough office during regular business hours.

Sources and contact

• Notice of intent to form the St. Lawrence Borough Municipal Authority, Berks County Law Journal, Oct. 8, 2026
• St. Lawrence Borough Council agenda, Oct. 8, 2026
• St. Lawrence Borough Council agenda, Sept. 10, 2026
• St. Lawrence Borough Council approved minutes, Aug. 13, 2026
• Mount Penn Borough Council special meeting agenda, Sept. 2, 2026
• Mount Penn Borough Municipal Authority
• St. Lawrence Borough agendas

Borough of St. Lawrence, 135 N. Prospect St., Reading, PA 19606. Council President Robert J. May; Borough Manager Derrek Rhoads; Solicitor Joan E. London.