At the April 4 Northampton Borough Council workshop meeting, council approved resolution 5-24 authorizing the borough manager to apply for grants from Northampton County’s Livable Landscapes program.

The Livable Landscapes Grant program provides grant opportunities in land conservation, ecological restoration, park rehabilitation and development and regional trails in Northampton County.

Resolution 6-24 was passed to authorize the borough manager to seek grants from the Greenways, Trails and Recreation program. These grants, funded by Pennsylvania, are for projects that involve the development, rehabilitation and improvements to public parks, recreation areas, greenways, trails and river conservation.

The grants in both resolutions total about $295,000, with some degree of matched funding from the borough’s general fund. The funds will pay for paving of the D&L Trail and the development of a trail head landing.

All council resolutions are available for resident review by contacting the borough office.

Council appointed Mayor Anthony Pristash as the delegate and Councilwoman Bonnie Almond as alternate delegate representing the borough at the annual Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs conference.

St. Peter Roman Catholic Church, Coplay, requested and received permission to rent the borough’s portable band trailer for its annual homecoming church picnic, set for Aug. 4. The church will be charged a rental fee of $300 per day and a delivery and setup fee of $150. The church must provide a certificate of insurance naming Northampton Borough as additionally insured.

Nazareth Area Chamber of Commerce also received permission to rent the trailer for its food truck festival June 8 and fall festival Oct. 19. The charges for the rental and required insurance are the same as the church’s rental agreement.

Council approved the recommendation of the borough’s solicitor to award Lehighton Ford the planned purchase of a bucket truck for the borough’s public works department in the amount of $178,288.23.

Councilman Kenneth Hall noted the borough received a letter of thanks from Northampton Area Public Library for the borough contribution of $18,000.

Hall also reported the GoGov app and citizen notification has been launched. There is a QR code to download the app. A resident must create an account to select notifications they want to receive. Residents can call the borough office for information about the app.

Pristash thanked the effort to start the app that will provide alerts and announcements timely for Northampton residents. He added the next round of Hometown Heroes banners deadline is April 26. These banners are planned to be posted publicly by Memorial Day.

Councilwoman Judy Haldeman, chair of the building, land and recreation committee, noted the recent Easter egg hunt was an “egg-cellent success.” She thanked all who coordinated the event.

Haldeman also said applications are being accepted at the borough office for all summer positions at the municipal swimming pool. Additionally, park permits were opened for nonresidents April 2.

Councilman Trevor Stone said the Northampton Borough Police Department is hosting its annual fishing contest 8 a.m.-4 p.m. April 20. Tickets to fish are $15 and include an entry in the event raffle. The fishing area is located behind the municipal building, 1401 Laubach Ave.

Almond reported the fire and police departments’ annual golf tournament will be held May 4 at Whitetail Golf Course in Bath. Registration starts 7 a.m.

For more information, see the borough’s spring newsletter at northamptonboro.com.

Almond reported applications are available for Northampton Fire Department’s summer cadet camp, planned for July 8-12 at the fire station, 4 Lerchenmiller Drive.

Vice President Ronald Glassic said applications are still being accepted at the borough office for the public works summer employee positions.

Glassic noted there was a meeting April 2, with two representatives of Gilmore and Associates, to discuss the Department of Environmental Protection notice of violations at the sewer plant. Gilmore is preparing a response.

A representative of Hyman Properties, Allentown, asked council to reconsider the recent zoning hearing board decision denying the request to utilize two dumpsters not contracted with Northampton at a 14-unit apartment building in the borough instead of using borough-sponsored sanitation pickup. The request was tabled for consideration at the next council meeting.

The next borough council meeting is set for 7 p.m. April 18 at the municipal building, 1401 Laubach Ave. It is a hybrid meeting, with both in-person and virtual options. Visit northamptonboro.com for access to view the meeting virtually live on YouTube.