The Slatington borough council approved awarding the Memorial Park project to G&B Construction in Willow Grove on Monday night.

The project involves cutting into the park along the alley and putting down pavement, said Borough Manager Daniel Stevens.

Slanted parking spots will be added.

The road will become a one-way street, and the broken sidewalk will be replaced with a new one, he said.

The project is being funded through a Community Development Block Grant.

G&B Construction was one of three companies that bid on the project. Their bid was $94,239.78.

S&G Asphalt Services LLC in Slatington bid $121,058, and Bracalente Construction in Northampton bid $126,922. Stevens said the total amount of the grant is $98,085. The extra could be used if there needs to be a change to the plan or a problem arises.

Acceptance of the bid is contingent on G&B Construction meeting all of the requirements of Lehigh County, Lehigh Engineering and the borough’s solicitor.

The council also approved putting in historic lights similar to those on the bridge near Memorial Park.

The lights cost $1,600 each, and the council would like to have two installed.

Stevens said the council will be looking for grant money to help pay for the lights.

In the meantime, they approved having conduit put in place, so that the new concrete will not have to be cut when they get funding for the lights, he said.

Other matters

In other business:

• The state Department of Environmental Protection notified the borough that the test sample at the well at Victory Park did not pass inspection.

The restroom and water access to the faucets had to be closed.

Stevens said the restrooms will remain closed at Victory Park for the rest of the year, but the ones at the trail head are open.

Council members said they think the problem could be due to the borough pool being closed this summer. Usually, the water in the pool is topped off every day with water from the well. This year, water was rarely drawn from it.

“You would think that well, being spring side, would be a good well,” said Council President Bryon Reed. He reiterated that its lack of use may have caused the problem.

• The Slatington Volunteer Fire Department has been awarded a large grant to be used for recruitment and retention of volunteers.

Chief Jason Nicholas told the council that the fire department and Diamond Fire Company in Walnutport went in together and applied for the grant through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

He received notification recently that they had been awarded the $281,500 grant. It will be split equally between the two fire departments.

“You generally don’t get it the first year, but we did,” he said.

Nicholas said the fire departments are planning to purchase recruitment signage and create a video to encourage people to join. They are also looking into other types of recruitment and retention activities that they can use with the grant money.

“This is totally new to us,” he said. “We’ve never had anything like that.”

The money will be given to the fire departments in installments over a four-year period and will be administered through a third party.

Currently, the fire department in Slatington has 49 people on its roster, Nicholas said. He’s excited to have so many members and looks forward to growing the department further.