At the Northampton Borough Council meeting May 16, several council members expressed concern about high grass and overgrown bushes on residents’ properties, extending over pavements and inhibiting residents from walking on sidewalks. Councilman Kenneth Hall requested assistance from council on ideas to address grass, weeds and overgrowth violations throughout Northampton.

Following some back-and-forth discussion about solutions, it was reported the current procedure is to develop a list of properties with overgrowth concerns and share it with the code enforcement officer to investigate.

Borough Manager LeRoy Brobst noted council can contact the code enforcement officer to share their concerns and log complaints. He said having the specifically designated code enforcement officer handle these issues avoids potential harassment of residents.

Brobst said there are 29 miles of streets in Northampton, and if the code enforcement officers were required to drive around the borough and identify and address these issues themselves, the borough would need to hire three more code enforcement officers.

Solicitor Stephanie Steward weighed in, saying that most municipalities use a “complaint-based solution.” Instead of having a code enforcement officer actively out seeking violations, they would act when a complaint is brought to their attention.

Mayor Anthony Pristash said he would recommend posting announcements on the borough website and newsletter reminding residents about the importance of maintaining their properties.

“Let the public know, and have them do the right thing,” Pristash said, adding the goal is to have a beautiful community.

In other business, council approved a request from the Northampton Fire Department to conduct the annual Firefighter’s Parade July 20 in conjunction with the Northampton Community Days Fair. The fire department plans to use the same route as last year, so it is requesting the recreation center parking lot and Clear Springs Drive be closed off beginning noon.

Several businesses on Main Street are requesting a change in the parking on the west side of the street in the area of the intersection of Main Street and Laubach Avenue. The request is to have one-hour parking limits 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. The request was forwarded to police Chief Bryan Kadingo to study the request and report back to council.

Boy Scout Nathan Pany, of Troop 93 in Northampton, received council approval for an Eagle Scout project that will refresh the gazebo and surrounding areas at Canal Street Park.

Joseph Billy was reappointed to a seat on the Northampton Uniform Construction Code Board of Appeals for another five-year term.

A request for an accessible parking space in the area of 14th Street was refused by council based on Kadingo’s recommendation.

At the May 2 council meeting, Kadingo was asked to do a parking study in the 2100 block of Main Street. The chief’s recommendation is to keep two parking spaces and remove the one-hour and two-hour parking signs. Steward noted council would need an ordinance for that change.

Kadingo requested the language requiring the completion of Act 120 training required by the Municipal Officers Education and Training Commission be removed. The chief said this would allow the borough the flexibility to decide to accept non-Act 120 individuals for consideration for employment. Steward suggested an ordinance change would be needed to address the request.

Brobst developed a list of seasonal employees for the pool and public works summer help and shared the list with council.

The public works and sewer committee interviewed for crew chief positions and recommended the hiring of Metro Hucaluk and Andrew Marzen as crew chiefs, effective May 17. Council approved the request.

Hall noted a list of refuse/garbage accounts of nonpayment to date is being prepared to forward to Portnoff Law Associates for collection.

Councilwoman Judy Haldeman said the municipal pool is scheduled to open June 1, and season passes are still available for purchase at the recreation center.

The next Northampton Borough Council meeting is set for 7 p.m. June 6 at the municipal building, 1401 Laubach Ave. It is a hybrid meeting, with both in-person and virtual options. Visit northamptonboro.com for the access information to view the meeting virtually.