Welcome to August, with my hopes you still have plenty of outdoor activities and summer travel in mind.

I want to start off by thanking our Northampton Exchange Club and all its volunteers for a tremendous 2024 Northampton Community Days celebration. With very favorable weather, I know many of you took the time to attend, taking in the great food and carnival atmosphere to make it the success that it proved to be. The closing day festivities and fireworks certainly accentuated the true community spirit of the event and left me all the more impressed how selflessly the Exchange Club performs to build a better Northampton.

Speaking of building a better Northampton, I just attended the annual Pennsylvania State Association of Mayors annual conference in Johnstown, with my goal of building a better Northampton mayor. Be sure, folks, the three-day conference certainly held up its end! With a mayor-centric itinerary of speakers and discussions, I met with more than 70 mayors from across the state, many already good friends. In fact, my good friends from North Catasauqua, Mayor Bill Molchany, and Bath, Mayor Fiorella Reginelli Mirabito, attended. We were treated to visits and talks from Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, Attorney General Michelle Henry and House of Representatives Speaker of the House Joanna McClinton, who also is the first female speaker of the House in our state’s history (and speaks very highly of state Rep. Zach Mako, R-183rd). I had the opportunity to speak to each one individually, obtaining an insight as to their vision of growing our communities. I was very encouraged by their words and the direction they’re taking in Harrisburg, moving to get more resources into the smaller municipalities like Northampton. Needless to say, I personally invited each one to visit Northampton, starting with our one-of-its-kind Atlas Cement Company Memorial Museum. I promised they’d be learning more about the history of Pennsylvania’s rich cement industry, up close and personal, than they ever imagined — paging Mr. Pany and Mr. Oberly!

With speakers covering every topic from pending legislation, fire and police recruiting and department issues, to community revitalization ideas and initiatives, the slate was full of rich ideas. As each well-versed and professional speaker presented detailed and informative PowerPoint-aided presentations, I’m now sharing those packages with our borough leaders and management, where applicable. I trust they’ll get as much out of these presentations as I did.

This conference is also unique in that we have a mayor’s roundtable where we all get together to share ideas, problems, opportunities and helpful information to streamline your initiatives. I can tell you I added another three ideas to my list, just in the first session.

Even with a full slate of speakers, we did have time to tour Johnstown, and its rich, though sometimes tragic, history was everywhere. Our trip to Johnstown Flood Museum, while very sobering, was time well spent given all the photographs and memorabilia of that day and how many outsiders came together to help the city recover.

When walking around the city, it reminded me of 1970s Bethlehem, after the Steel closed. Johnstown suffered the same fate when its mills closed, making it the city with the highest unemployment rate in the country at that time.

Now, despite the many empty storefronts downtown and open space, the city is roaring back! Its mayor and good friend, Frank Janakovic, spearheads those initiatives, aided by a strong partnership with city, state and federal officials. Businesses and heavy industry are finding their way back, and the city has a new spirit and optimism, which is evident when you talk to local citizens.

As Janakovic and I often talked one on one, I surely took many notes, questioned the many financial aid streams the city uses and shared ideas on community redevelopment, which we could use here in Northampton. Thus, it was a really informative and rich learning experience for me — personally and certainly as your mayor. I wish all the best for Janakovic and the citizens of Johnstown in all of their revitalization efforts as this conference and all of my new best friends certainly energized me!

As far as local initiatives, I know you’ve heard plenty about Canal Street Park and the monarch butterfly gardens. Well, we now have four gardens planted, with more to come! We’re also working to upgrade and expand our playgrounds, repave the trail and work to get the trailhead center initiative moving forward.

The intense heat we’ve experienced this summer has not helped, but our esteemed public works department, headed by Rich Ackerman, has been doing its best to keep the parks clean and safe for everyone. Thank you, public works!

Also, after 50-plus years of service to the borough, LeRoy Brobst, borough manager, has decided to retire. To say this is a big loss to the borough is an extreme understatement. Under Brobst’s leadership, our town has benefited from his vast experience and knowledge of Northampton infrastructure. Along with those street smarts, maintaining a tight budget and financial stability for the borough highlighted his career. I’ll write more about this next month, but for now, I wholeheartedly wish Brobst a very peaceful happy, relaxing, cigar-filled retirement. He certainly deserves it.

For now, let’s get those picnics going, enjoy another pool party or three, hit the bike paths or just get out and sit on your stoop. But please, enjoy the outdoors and all we have here in Northampton!