Mike Gibson spoke before the Emmaus Borough Council Jan. 16, to discuss new parking signs throughout the borough.

The Emmaus Main Street Partners were awarded a $1,500 grant from the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce for parking signs to be put into public and private lots. These signs are designed to help residents better locate these lots.

Gibson said they “went out to the businesses and made the initiative with them to volunteer their parking areas during business hours or off business hours to other patrons or other businesses throughout the borough.”

The blue aluminum signs, which will cost $125 for sign and posts, will be located on breakaway posts throughout the borough. The grant requires the Emmaus Main Street Partners and the Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce logos to be placed on the bottom two corners of the signs. In addition, at the bottom of each sign will be a small attachment sign with the name of the business who owns the lot.

“We are not selling sponsorships, but recognizing those private businesses that will be allowing us to utilize their parking lots,” Gibson said.

To date they have one business committed, which is BB&T bank, one in discussion, and one as a possibility which is the Jubilee Street parking lot by borough hall. Gibson said the objective was to focus first in the Triangle, due to the high volume of businesses and work toward the library and Cedar Crest Boulevard.

Gibson was before council to request a $1,500 match for the grant, as well as a request to utilize the borough’s public works department to put up the posts and signs. They are looking at a total of 11 signs if the third lot goes through.

When asked by Council President Brent Labenberg if they thought of buying extra signage ahead of time in case of the possibility of more lots, Gibson said they decided against it only because they wouldn’t necessarily know which way the directional arrow would go.

Gibson said they have started discussions with other businesses, but they’re running into some challenges with availability and with some wanting to charge for the usage of their spaces.

Council voted 5-0 in favor of matching the grant and proceeding forward.

In other business, council voted 5-0 in favor of applying for the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Project Grant. This $1.5 million grant would go toward the new building the borough purchased on 33 E.Minor St. The grant is a dollar for dollar match, with the majority of the borough’s match coming from the sale of the old properties.

“If we’re able to obtain the grant, it would ... speed up the process,” Emmaus Borough Manager Shane Pepe said.

In addition to the building being the new home of borough operations, Pepe said part of the building will be leased to the Seven Generations Charter School, which will create up to seven new jobs for the school.

John Hayes of New Tripoli Bank stopped by borough council to announce they are constructing a new bank building on Buckeye Road in Upper Milford Township. The bank will be across from Blackmans Cycle Center in the old Hinnerschietz used car lot. They felt it was a good location, and will be able to attract business from Emmaus, Macungie, Lower Macungie, Upper Milford and Alburtis.

“Our intent is not to build just a bank branch, but a true banking facility,” Hayes said.

The bank intends to include space for commercial, retail and residential mortgage lending, bank operations as well as a full branch and a training facility if enough room is left over.

Ordinance 1152, which deals with abandoned or foreclosed properties in the borough, passed its final reading. This ordinance will allow the borough to contact the individual or company that owns the property and work with them in regards to taking care of the remnants of a building.