Greetings and salutations, my friends. I know the calendar says February, but I’m already looking toward April or sooner to break ground on projects to further beautify our Canal Street Park along the Lehigh River.

First and foremost, we’ll be starting construction of the first phase of the Riverfront Garden as soon as the cold weather breaks. This garden, located on Canal Street immediately behind the Hungarian Hall, will feature a wide variety of colorful and native plantings in the 7,000-square-foot area. There’ll also be plenty of seating included for you to relax and take in the peacefulness of the park.

We plan on expanding this park exponentially as grants and other financial concerns are met, but we’ll be off to a great start once this first section is completed.

Borough Manager LeRoy Brobst joined me on the north end of the park to discuss the projected welcome center site. This building will serve as a comfort station to the many travelers on the D&L Trail.

Informational maps will be available there as well. We plan to feature two large maps, one highlighting local businesses where food, drink and other amenities can be found and one of the D&L Trail route itself.

Additionally, an eye-catching Welcome to Northampton sign will be proudly, prominently displayed, completing the picture.

As of now, our engineers are compiling building plans for council to review. As soon as that phase is complete, I’ll update you on the progress of the site.

Now, let me draw your attention to the efforts of my dear friend, the Rev. Jerry Mraz. Even at 90 years old, Jerry has the energy and passion of a teenager. Currently, he’s working on a monarch butterfly way station project. This lofty initiative involves placing specific plants and flowers in individual plots, roughly 5 feet by 15 feet in area, to promote monarch butterfly feeding, proliferation and growth.

These sites are becoming more popular across the country, as the monarch population is dwindling. The overall intention of this project is to have these sites placed immediately alongside the Canal Street Park pathway, from the gazebo at the north end to the Riverfront Garden at the south end - roughly a mile.

These individual sites could be donated by Northampton residents as a memorial or such. Knowing these sites will take additional work through the warmer months, he’s also trying to form a beautification committee - a garden club of sorts - to perform weeding and caretaking tasks at the park.

If you love to work outdoors, enjoy getting your hands dirty or have a talented green thumb, please contact Jerry at 610-442-8156 or email him at farar@ptd.net or Councilwoman Judy Haldeman at judi.haldemannbc@gmail.com for further information. You’ll be glad you joined in this project to beautify our town!

Lastly, as you may have noticed, our streetlights are being upgraded to the much more efficient and economical LED lights. We look to save at least 33% on our electric bill with this upgrade.

Now, reviews have been mixed, as these lights are much brighter and whiter than the current, warm orange lights we’ve come to know. While it may take some getting used to, the lights are there to provide for the safety of our citizens, offer safer traveling conditions and thwart criminal activity. This upgrade excels at providing for all three of these conditions and then some.

For now, enjoy these longer days as we creep closer to spring and all of these outdoor activities we’ve put on hold. Happy Valentine’s Day, Happy Presidents Day, and may God bless you!