At the June 18 Northampton Borough Council meeting, council approved a request to place a geocache at Canal Street Park. This geocache would be hidden at the park, near the Cementon-Northampton Bridge. It will also be placed away from the trail so as not to interfere with people enjoying the trail.

A geocache is a cleverly hidden container used in the real-world outdoor treasure hunt game called Geocaching. Participants use GPS receivers or mobile apps to navigate to specific coordinates to find, log and trade small items hidden by other players.

Caches are hidden everywhere from urban parks to deep wilderness trails. They vary drastically in size, ranging from 5-gallon buckets to tiny containers no bigger that a pencil eraser known as micros. To learn how it works, visit geocoaching.com for more information or to participate.

Council also approved a resident’s request for an accessible parking space in the 100 block of West 17th Street. Northampton Borough Police Chief Bryan Kadingo recommended the request.

Borough Manager Brian Welsko noted the borough is seeking permission to apply for two 2027 Hotel Tax grants. Pennsylvania Hotel Tax grants are locally administered funds generated from county-level hotel room taxes and short-term rental fees. These competitive grants are typically awarded by county governments, tourism promotion agencies and chambers of commerce to support nonprofits and municipalities and tourism initiatives.

The first grant request is in the amount of $3,000 for hosting concerts in Municipal Park. If awarded the grant, the borough would have to supply a $1,000 match.

The second grant request application would be for $10,000 to expand the borough’s popular Hometown Holidays event held in late November in the parking lots of the recreation center and fire department on Lerchenmiller Drive. The second grant request, if successful, includes a $3,333 match from the borough.

Council approved both requests for grant application.

Welsko noted it is time to begin planning the annual Northampton Jack Frost Parade celebrating Halloween. He said this year will be the 77th year of the parade.

The Northampton Exchange Club, which sponsors the parade, was approved to hold the parade 7 p.m. Oct. 15, with a rain date of Oct. 22. The Exchange Club also requested the recreation center parking lot be closed by 5 p.m., as was done last year. Council approved the requests.

There were numerous accolades by Northampton council, mayor and administration to the public works department for its efforts to improve the municipal pool for the 2026 season. A number of accolades to Horwith Trucking were also provided for the generous support of the needs of the swimming pool, making it possible to keep the pool open.

In her building, land and recreation committee report, Councilwoman Judy Haldeman said the borough is hosting an event July 3 to honor the 250th anniversary of the United States. The event will feature activities and food for all ages. The event runs 5-9 p.m. at Municipal Park.

In his code and police committee report, Councilman Trevor Stone noted the borough’s police department received grant funding in the amount of $59,397 for the purchase of a new vehicle for the police chief.

The next Northampton Borough Council meeting is changed from July 2 to July 1. It will be held 7 p.m. at the municipal building, 1401 Laubach Ave. It is a hybrid meeting, with both in-person and virtual options. Visit northamptonboro.com to review the agenda of the meeting and to access the meeting virtually.