During the Northampton Borough Council meeting on February 1, council unanimously approved planting a memorial tree for borough teen Jacob Michael Bobko. Bobko, a student at Bethlehem Catholic, sadly passed away on January 14 at the age of 15.
In his obituary, his family wrote that Jacob “had a compassionate heart and was a kind, caring young man.”
Borough residents may have seen him riding his bike or fishing at the local creek. A stellar student and athlete, Jacob was also a member of Assumption B.V.M. Roman Catholic Church in the borough. As an altar server and Sunday School student, “Jacob touched the lives of many and developed friendships that lasted all through his years,” his family continued.
The Building, Land and Recreation Committee will work with Bobko’s loved ones to designate a park location and the type of tree to honor his memory.
During their meeting, council also unanimously re-hired Michael Adams as a borough wastewater treatment plant employee. Adams previously worked at the wastewater treatment plant but resigned to “pursue a calling of a higher purpose” to become a priest.
Borough Manager LeRoy Brobst said staff at the treatment plant are “most anxious to have him back.” Adams was also warmly welcomed back to his position by members of council, who thanked him for his past work and voiced excitement for what Adams will do in the future.
In other news, council also approved a resolution to amend the non-resident daily fee for the borough’s recreation center to $20 per day as recommended by the rec center’s director, Jason Kremus.
Another approval council made was for the return of the annual Uptown Street Fair, scheduled for Saturday, September 14.
Several announcements were also made during the meeting. Among them was news that Keystone Harley-Davidson has donated an electric bike to the borough’s police bike patrol unit. Council also announced there is an open position on the borough’s Water Authority. Residents are encouraged to apply. Councilman Ronald Glassic encouraged residents to take advantage of this opportunity to get involved and see how the Water Authority and the borough’s wastewater treatment facility run.
Public works was commended once again by members of council and Mayor Anthony Pristash, not only for their response to recent snow storms but also for their work repairing potholes caused by the stormy weather.
Finally, Brobst updated council and residents on the train safety issue discussed in January’s meeting after residents noticed that trains crossing at 10th and Main streets were not using flares or flaggers to alert oncoming traffic. After discussing the issue with Horwith Trucks, who owns the crossing, it was discovered the trains belong to Norfolk-Southern. Brobst said he will be reaching out, but he and council are not hopeful they’ll receive a response from the large corporation.
The next borough council meeting will be Thursday, February 15 at 7 p.m.
