The dedication of a new drinking fountain recently installed at a Slatington park will soon be on tap.

Northern Lehigh Future Focus will conduct a news conference at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 3, at the Slatington Memorial Park, located at Second & Main streets in Slatington.In the event of inclement weather, the news conference will be held underneath the gazebo in the park.Along with the dedication of the fountain, the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber Foundation will be recognized for their contribution to the project as well, according to NLFF member Robert Stettner.In the fall of 2010, Stettner said Phase 1 of the park construction project was completed. That phase consisted of the construction of a paved performance area; installation of a Victorian gazebo and benches; parking and sidewalk installation; and grass planting, he said. Stettner said funding for that phase was made possible by a Department of Community and Economic Resources grant, as well as donations from former classes who attended the old Slatington High School, which once stood on the lot.The total cost of that phase was about $130,000, said Stettner, who added that figure included the DCNR grant; public donations; in kind services from the borough; a local electrician, who did wiring and outlet installation at the gazebo; and NLFF, which paid for the electrical parts. The borough's in kind services consisted of demolition work, line painting, water service installation, and other work, he said. However, the originally planned landscaping around the performance area and gazebo had to be pulled out of the project due to a shortfall in funding, Stettner said.Last spring, NLFF, which has assisted the borough with the park project, applied for, and received, a $5,000 grant from First Niagara Bank to landscape the park, Stettner said. The landscaping work added trees, shrubbery and flowers to the areas around the performance area and gazebo, said Stettner, who added that MTS Landscaping, Slatington, did the landscaping and planted the vegetation.Stettner said the last part to the original plans for Phase I included the drinking fountain. In 2011, he said the NLFF applied for, and received, a $1,000 grant from the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber Foundation. That, along with $1,500 in funding from the borough, enabled the purchase of the water fountain for the park, Stettner said.The black, dual spigot fountain, is handicapped accessible, and contains a hose bib that can be used to water the vegetation in the park, and allows access to water for groups holding events in the park, Stettner said. Maintenance workers from the Slatington Borough Crew poured the concrete base for the fountain and installed the fountain, he said.Northern Lehigh Future Focus is a Slatington based community visioning group that serves the Northern Lehigh area.For more information about the news conference, contact Dan Stevens, president of NLFF, at (610) 760-0685, or email

nlff@ptd.net.