At the Venture Group's Wednesday meeting Mike Schlossberg, of the Chamber of Commerce, talked to the group about the Borough Business Revitalization Program (BBRP). The program assists participating communities in their efforts of providing economically healthy, vibrant, pedestrian-friendly and aesthetically pleasing downtowns for their residents by promoting their events and assets while providing technical assistance and access to financial resources on a regional and state level. It costs $10,000 annually to join the BBRP, but the Venture Group discussed having the boroughs of Slatington and Walnutport splitting the costs and the benefits of the program.

"The issue I have is boroughs can't do it alone anymore," Nancy Treskot said. "I think we need to stop looking at it as just Slatington and Walnutport. We all have the same school taxes."The Venture Group discussed another joint project between Slatington and Walnutport: putting up period lighting on each of the boroughs' Main streets. The Venture Group would like to see the same kind of lighting fixtures on the new General Morgan Bridge run from Main Street in Slatington across the bridge that runs over the Lehigh River and onto Walnutport's Main Street.In other business, Gary Fedorcha, of Northern Lehigh Future Focus, gave the group an update on the pending Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor's landscaping project at the Slatington Trailhead. Fedorcha said that the D and L has approval for the project; they're just trying to hold it up until the Carpenters Union has a chance to finish the Trailhead Building Project."The time frame is a matter of when that building's done," Fedorcha said.Work on the Trailhead Building should start up again shortly, and that project should only take a few weeks to finish. The next meeting of the Venture Group is scheduled for Sept. 29 at 8:30 a.m. in Slatington Borough Hall.