At Coplay Borough Council’s workshop session Dec. 1, Councilman Charles Sodl reported the borough has funds to purchase a gazebo for the town center project near Giant Food Store.

“We received a letter from Coplay Community Days donating $7,500 to the borough to purchase a gazebo,” he said.

Councilmen Stephen Burker, Carl Luckenbach and Sodl picked out the pre-built unit.

“What we want to do is get this paid for and shipped in, so we can have it ready for Christmas lights,” said Sodl.

In other news, Mayor Joseph Bundra and council President Louis Bodish discussed an upcoming meeting with local leaders at LafargeHolcim.

“We want to discuss all kinds of things with them. We’ll bring up what we want to do with the Saylor Kilns and a connecting trail to the [Ironton Rail Trail],” said Bundra in reference to a D&L Trail connection.

The D&L Trail follows the Lehigh River north to White Haven and south to Philadelphia with only a few broken links. One broken connecting link is presently a rock-strewn, rutted walking path that traces along the side of the LafargeHolcim cement plant on Route 329 and ties in to the IRT.

Improving the connector has been a long-term project for all the communities that support the IRT. The project was delayed because of costs and the need to obtain land rights. The goal seems ever so close now that many of the legal obstacles have been removed.

Bundra indicated that borough representatives met with Lehigh Valley officials in mid-November to review plans for the Saylor Kilns. According to Bundra, local officials are supportive of the effort. Funds are available at the county level to get the project started.

Additionally, public works Director Paul Boyle assured council that the borough is ready for winter weather. He indicated some of the Christmas display lighting is still dark. “We are aware of the problem. The sites don’t have power, and we are working with PPL to get the problem fixed,” he said.

In a future task, away from the immediate cold weather, Boyle is expected to put together the parameters of a spray park to open at the pool this summer.

Council will appoint members to various boards and commissions at its next regular meeting. Reorganization day for council is scheduled for Jan. 4, when new members are sworn in.

Sodl suggested that council look at replacing Keystone Consulting Engineers as the borough’s engineering firm.

“They just don’t seem to be responsive, and we have been with them for a long time,” he said.

Keystone recently appointed Frank Clark as the borough’s engineer, but the appointment took longer than expected.