At North Catasauqua Borough Council’s June 20 meeting, it was announced a $50,000 grant from Northampton County will go toward the police parking lot improvement project.

Belfor offered a bid at the last meeting, and the plan is to improve upon the police car port, essentially enclosing what is now an open car port. This will better improve parking lot security and allow police to have better control of the environment while placing a suspect in custody.

The borough had discussions with Belfor while making changes to fence height and garage door options so as to reduce the price by $14,000. The original bid was $143,000, so while the price is still higher than the original budget, it is within budget guidelines.

In other news, Bob and Deb Clinton appeared on behalf of the company that handled the auction of 408 Buttonwood St., an abandoned home that had to be demolished after a water line break caused a sinkhole and gas leak in January 2018. State law of the municipal planning code encourages abandoned buildings to be reconstructed and put to good use or the price in demolition could outrate any other benefit, council President Peter Paone said.

The carnival, held June 15-18 at North Catasauqua William J. Albert Memorial Park and sponsored by North Catasauqua Betterment Committee, was held all four nights with no nights lost to inclement weather. It was agreed the event was a success.

In other business, council approved additional police resources for the concert by the Amish Outlaws, scheduled for 7 p.m. July 10 at the North Catasauqua park, 701 Grove St. The concert is sponsored by the borough recreation committee, with funding assistance provided by a hotel tax grant through Northampton County.

It was mentioned the borough has applied for next year’s concert as well, in addition to a grant for assisting with a North Catasauqua Community Day event for 2023. This year, the Community Day event will be July 23 at the park.

Council agreed to submit an insurance claim for an unexpected repair of a damaged door at the firehouse due to an issue with the large bay door coming down on the ladder truck as it was pulling out of the station. The fire department is stationing trucks at Catasauqua Borough’s firehouse for the time being, as a delay is expected before final repair. Fire Chief Roger Scheirer will provide two additional quotes due to a price exceeding $10,000. Council agreed to submit the insurance claim.

Also at the meeting, the zoning dilemma along Howertown Road was discussed. Residents have alleged the cost of $500 per property owner to go before the zoning hearing board if they wish to in court is a scam designed for the borough to make more money.

“A lot of people think it’s a racket,” Paone said. “It’s actually costing the borough a lot of money.”

The current zoning ordinance states any property along Howertown Road must treat the edge along the road as a front yard. This creates a problem because all the houses on Woodmont Lane have their front yards facing Woodmont and the backs of the houses facing Howertown Road.

Council voted to advertise the ordinance for consideration at the next meeting.

To better accommodate summer plans, meetings are set to take place 7 p.m. July 18 and Aug. 15.