August already? As sure as the days are slowly getting shorter, so slips away what has been a tumultuous summer, weather-wise.

While we’ve had a full schedule of July events, from our Fourth of July celebration to Northampton Community Days, disrupted by tropical rains, we’re still plugging along, knowing there’s still time to enjoy the warm days of August in and around town.

Before you pack up your chairs and blankets for the season, plan to bring the family down to Municipal Park Aug. 14 to enjoy our next edition of Movies in the Park. As we did last year, the Municipal Park bandshell will be the site for this family-friendly event. Activities kick off 6 p.m. with face painting and a balloon artist as well as food trucks for your dining pleasure.

The movie, “The SpongeBob Movie, Search of SquarePants” begins at dusk. With a sizable 18-foot screen, there’s plenty of space to set up your blankets and chairs with your favorite people. This is the perfect outdoor venue to spend a night with family and friends under the stars.

For all of my good friends who enjoy spending time walking or biking along the Lehigh River on our Canal Street Park trail, you may have to make some adjustments to your route. The improvements to the trail we’ve all been waiting for will begin early this month. Look for the trail to be fully resurfaced and widened at points, making for much safer and easier travel.

As the 1.4 miles of trail we have in the borough is one of the only paved stretches along the 164-mile Delaware and Lehigh Trail, we want to be sure it’s the most consistently level and safest way to walk and ride. Once the reconstruction of the pathway is complete, I plan to begin a whole new round of colorful, vibrant planting along the entirety of the trail.

Since I was aware that any planting within the past year would have been affected by the construction, I decided it best to wait until everything settled down and I know exactly the spacing and areas that would be available to beautify the park. I understand there are some Eagle Scout candidates looking for projects, so be sure I’ll be asking for their assistance, as they have already been a huge help with our monarch butterfly parks.

If you haven’t already seen, Main Street, from 21st to 24th streets, has finally been repaved, to the delight of many! Thank you, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, for getting this project completed as quickly and efficiently as you did, despite the late-night noise and disruptions.

Progress can be a headache at times, but given this very long-awaited repaving, I’m sure we’ll soon forget the interruptions, craterlike roads and delays to enjoy the years of a smooth, easy ride ahead.

Along with the completions of north Main Street’s refurbishment, I understand the completion of the Cementon-Northampton Bridge paving will begin shortly, as the contractors have already dismantled the former bridge. There has been plenty of activity at the site with completing the paving and initial roadwork, so know there’ll be some additional delays and the associated headaches along that stretch of 21st Street in the next few weeks. Patience, my friends, patience.

If you see a film crew and plenty of activity along Center Street mid-August, it’s only our good friend Dan Roebuck filming scenes for his upcoming movie “Men of Granite.” I’m happy to welcome Dan and his crew back to Northampton for his third foray of filming here.

The movie, a Vietnam-era story, has already been filming at various sites across the Valley, as Dan is known to do. A very ambitious project to be sure, I’ll certainly be letting Dan know we’d love to have the premiere of “Men of Granite” at the Roxy Theatre, as he’s done before.

Lastly, I had the pleasure of attending this year’s Pennsylvania State Mayors’ Association annual conference, which was held at Historic Hotel Bethlehem. With 74 other mayors from all parts of Pennsylvania, the conference was one of the most informational and rewarding meetings yet.

While all of the sessions in the three-day conference were pertinent to the mayor’s role in their community, my favorite and most rewarding segment is the mayors roundtable. This is where we get together and discuss the obstacles we face, as well as how other boroughs have tackled problems with infrastructure, police and fire department staffing and financial resources.

After all the discussion, I once again realized how good we have it here in Northampton. Yes, we have many things we need to work on to heighten the quality of life here in town, but let me assure you, we don’t have a 10th of the obstacles and problems other municipalities are facing across the state. We can, and will, continue to improve our community, as you’ve already see happening.

Know that we have a great police and fire department and a strong, active public works department and caring administration, all keeping this town a safe and enjoyable place to live. I’ll certainly be doing my part as your mayor, especially with the added knowledge and insights I’ve learned at this PSMA conference.

Enjoy the rest of your summer days, everyone, and I’ll see you around town!