Representatives from the Northern Valley Emergency Medical Service Inc., as well as the municipalities it serves, recently gathered for the Greater Northern Lehigh Chamber of Commerce Municipal Update Luncheon.

Speakers from Heidelberg, Washington, Lehigh, Northern Whitehall and Lynn townships, as well as Slatington and Walnutport highlighted the past year’s improvements in their towns and previewed 2018 projects.

Alice Wanamaker, vice president of the chamber’s northern region, introduced each presenter.

Slatington borough Manager Judith Danko spoke on the many projects that have taken place and briefed the room on the borough’s future.

“This was an exciting year,” she said. “For next year, the Main Street Bridge project will take place from June to August, turning the bridge into one lane.”

A committee is being formed regarding the repairs and the best way to help the local businesses and commuters get around while the repairs are conducted.

Danko said the Main and Church streetlight project will be funded with grant money.

The next bridge on the list for assessment in the borough is the Walnut Street Bridge.

“The bridge contributes to the historic district,” she said.

Slatington will also face a busy year as the Main Street Merchants Group works hard to fill vacant storefronts on the Main Street.

“They will be conducting a survey to see what’s missing,” she said.

Danko highlighted the finished John Freed Way project, 13 new parking spots added to the left and right of the downtown roadway near the Charlotte Fay’s Main Street Diner. The borough will partner with the chamber for a 4 p.m. ribbon cutting of the new spaces on Dec. 2 before the annual tree lighting.

“We are hoping it will be well used and appreciated and bring more people to the downtown area,” she said.

She also spoke about the upcoming sewer system rehabilitation and the $395,000 grant acquired to make the necessary repairs.

Walnutport Borough Council Board President William Turk then spoke of grants and road repairs finished in the borough.

“We have been very blessed to get the grants we have,” he said.

Turk said the borough has acquired close to $4 million worth of grant funding for everything from the newly constructed salt shed to the updated canal locks.

“We received a grant for $220,000 for the shed,” he said. “If you saw it from the outside you wouldn’t know what it was. It holds 220 tons of salt and cost the borough $40,000 with the grant.”

Along with the shed, the borough has received $90,000 of street repair work and $120,000 for a freight liner dump truck.

“We had our first ‘Adopt a Tree’ program. It’s the first time we tried it. We have 28 trees going up with a 10-foot Christmas tree in the center,” he said.

A streetlight replacement will be made at the Main Street and Route 145 intersection near the soon-to-be constructed Taco Bell.

“For many years, the borough was a stagnant area. The council didn’t do anything, people were comfortable with the way it was. But we have done a lot since the 1980s. The taxes may be a little high, but everyone is happy,” he said.

Washington Township’s Manager Todd Weidman discussed the bridge projects that took place over 2017.

“We are finishing up this year with the Old Mill Bridge and the Main Street Bridge project,” he said.

According to the manager, the Emerald Turnpike repairs were also wrapped up over the summer.

“The Best Station Bridge is almost finished,” he said.

Weidman told the audience that the municipal staff has undergone changes in the past few months, saying, “From the treasurer to the code enforcement office, we have had a complete change of staff. We hired our own building code officer and will have two open supervisors seats,” he said.

One of the longtime sitting board supervisors has decided to retire while another has resigned leaving the seats vacant.

Cindy Miller, township supervisor for Lehigh Township, told the crowd, “Walmart pulled out of the county. It was a corporate strategy decision. We are thankful they pulled out now instead of five years from now,” she said.

Along with Walmart, another large issue facing Lehigh is the multiple municipality police booking system.

“Before we had to go to Easton, it would take four hours before,” she said.

Miller said the shared booking building was not being paid for by the county.

“We found out the county did not pay the bills for the past three years. They didn’t want to pay them,” she said.

“We approached the new county executive to work on the funding. Four municipalities use it,” she said.

The township has also implemented strict weight and speed restrictions on its roadways.