The Walnutport Canal's Boat Lock 24 will get a makeover this summer. The borough council received job bids from several contracts for the lock's reconstruction. The borough chose lowest bidder Eagle Construction, to perform the work at an estimated cost of $232,000.

"If you have the money available I'd award it to Eagle," borough engineer Jason Newhard said."They have water experience, they worked on the Brandywine or a branch of it. Our engineering company has worked with them before," Newhard said."We do have the grant money. We held on to this money for the lock," said borough council President Matthew Newhard.The work is tentatively scheduled to begin some time in early June after all the paperwork and plans are finalized."Because of trout spawning season we are looking at June. It should take about four months to complete," the engineer said.Lehigh Street repairs were also discussed at the meeting with the council awarding lowest bidder Livengood Excavators Inc. the job for a cost of $223,700. The work order includes water main repair and repaving. The borough had also received a Community Development Block Grant to fund the project."In order to widen Lehigh Street and put a new pole up we have to cut down a tree. The woman who lives there agreed to let us cut it down. It will cost $850," said borough President Newhard.The council voted to move money from the Capital Improvement Fund to cover the remainder of the balance after grant money is applied.The Greater Northern Lehigh Chamber of Commerce is looking to expand its role in connecting the community to its resources."The chamber is putting together a website for all municipalities and nonprofits to advertise events free of charge," said councilwoman and chamber president Nancy Treskot."It's about community involvement," she said.Treskot also informed the board and residents in attendance the chamber will be putting together an insurance marketplace where people can pick plans through various insurance brokers."Several years ago the chamber had insurance, but we had to redo it after Obamacare. Now it's a marketplace with 35 brokers that will do the work for you. It's also free of charge," Treskot said. The chamber president suggested the borough use the new marketplace to see if cost can be cut from next year's budget."We can see if we can get better rates but keep the same type of coverage. It's good business to see where we can get the most bang for our buck."