Slatington borough council has a new council member.

On Monday, the council approved the appointment of Aaron Schoch to take the open seat left vacant by former council member Jeffery Hausman.

Hausman left council because he moved out of town, said Borough manager Dan Stevens.

Schoch is the husband of Slatington Mayor Jeralyn Schoch. He is one of two candidates that the council interviewed for the seat.

Stevens said it is not a conflict of interest to have related people serve in the borough at the same time.

“In the past, we had a husband and wife both run for council,” Stevens said. He also knows of another case where a father and son both served on a council.

Schoch will be sworn in at a special meeting Monday.

Parking

The council also decided to deny a request made by Susan Layland in March for a handicap parking spot in front of the library in Slatington. The library is located on the busy Main Street, with parallel parking.

Zoning Board member Bryon Reed said it would be unsafe for someone to open a car door there into traffic. Council members and police Chief Greg Winokur agreed.

Salvatore Adragna, owner of Mama’s Pizza on Main Street, said it would tie up a parking space for his business.

In another parking topic, Mayor Schoch announced that business owners and their employees will be allowed to park in the parking lot at St. John’s Church on Second Street. The purpose of making the lot available to only businesses and their employees is to free up parking for customers on Main Street.

The parking spaces will be monitored, so those using the spaces will be given a permit to park there. Stevens said the permits will be given to the business owners to distribute to their employees.

“We’ve had this in place a few months,” Stevens said. “It’s just a matter of getting the permits distributed.”

Stevens said Reed was instrumental in making this parking lot available to the businesses. He started working on the project when he was a council member, and was able to work out an agreement with the church.

Streets

Mayor Schoch and the Slatington American Legion are gathering together communities to purchase Hometown Heroes Banners. She has reached out to Walnutport, Lehigh Township and Washington Township. The banners range in price from $170 to $180. The bigger the order, the cheaper they will cost per banner.

In other business, the council :

• Received the reimbursement for Community Development Block Grants for the 2 South Street project totaling $192,586.40. Project approved for liquid fuels match.

• Received reimbursement for the Greenways, Trails and Recreation Program Grant for $105,488.

• Authorized Lehigh Engineering to make adjustments to the plans for Fifth Street.

• Approved moving forward with CDBG project for air packs and cylinders for the fire department.

• Approved resolution with the new Right to Know procedures and fees for the Slatington Police Department.

• Thanked Allen O. Delke American Legion Post 16 for donating $500 toward flags and poles on Main Street.

• Approved extending the lease at 526 W. Franklin St. to the Masonic Community Center Foundation.

• Approved a bid of $19,587.37 for filter bed effluent valve control upgrade for water treatment plant.

• Announced the next Slatington Borough Electronics Recycling Day will be from 9 to 11 a.m. on Saturday at the borough garage.

Kristine Porter contributed to this story.