The Northampton Borough Council discussed the 2021 budget, among other items, at their meeting on Thursday, November 19.
The Lafayette College Technology Clinic is a two-semester program where students from different academic backgrounds work together to create solutions to real-world problems for a client. A team of students, along with their mentor, were at Thursday’s meeting to invite members of borough council to their Zoom presentation during the December 9 Planning Commission meeting; these students are working on a variety of solutions pertaining to economic development and sport within the borough.
In other news, the Christmas tree was put up at Main Street and Laubach Avenue on Friday, November 20 and will be decorated through Wednesday, November 25. The Northampton Borough Fire Department will sponsor their annual Santa Run on Saturday, December 12 starting at noon; however, there will be no gift exchange due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.
Northampton Borough’s feral cat issue was briefly addressed to give a few updates. First, a meeting was held on November 20 with the Animal Control officer, health officer, and code officers to further discuss the issue. Five cats were trapped and taken to Veronica at Something Fishy; she will bring them to get spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and ear tipped.
Council members considered a request from The Gospel Chapel to stage a live nativity scene on Thursday, December 24. The original request included a municipal park, pavilion, and bandshell; however, the parks have been winterized and only Canal Street has a working restroom. Borough Council discussed the idea of letting the Gospel Chapel use the gazebo or bandshell and providing the restroom trailer. Ultimately, the motion was tabled to allow for discussion between council and the Chapel.
Finally, Borough Manager LeRoy Brobst answered questions about next year’s budget, but will rework it once again for the December 3 meeting. It was also mentioned that COVID-19 cases are on the rise again and council discussed the idea of moving their meetings back to a virtual platform.
The next borough council meeting will be held on Thursday, December 3 at 7:30 p.m. in the Northampton Borough Municipal Building.
