A newly formed joint recreation authority has been authorized to act starting immediately. Slatington held a public meeting before the regularly scheduled borough meeting Monday night to give residents a chance to ask questions about the Washington Township and Slatington Borough collaboration.

The new authority will be known as the Northern Lehigh Recreation Authority. The board will be a combination of three Slatington representatives, Paul Gass for a five-year term, Taylor Jones for three years and David Schnaars for a one-year term, with five Washington Township representatives, Brent Herzog for one year, Wesley Beltz for five years, Josh Friebolin for three years, Debra Klocek for two years and Renee Evans rounding out the group with a one-year term.In order to qualify for the authority, members must be residents or own and operate a business in their respective municipalities. Since the representative count is an even number, eight, a super majority of six votes will be required on any decision regarding monies spent in the amount of $25,000 and up.The chairperson and vice chair of the authority will alternate each fiscal year between the combined municipalities. The elected chairperson for the first year of the authority will keep the position until Dec. 31, 2016.The new authority will be required to meet at least once per fiscal year or risk being terminated. Each municipality is responsible for appointing one member of its township supervisors or borough council to the authority board.No objections were brought to the council's attention. Washington Township held its hearing for the dual authority formation a week before the Slatington hearing.