Possibly the youngest person to ever hold office in Slatington joined the borough council this month. Zachari Halkias, 19, was sworn in just before the council’s reorganization meeting earlier this month.

Borough Manager Dan Stevens said the borough has had a council since 1864, so it is hard to say if he is the youngest for certain. He knows there have been a couple that he can remember who were young, but Halkias might be the youngest.

“I encourage young people to get involved in their local government,” Stevens said.

Halkias said he ran for council because he wants to bring more business into Slatington. He also wants to see the community swimming pool reopen, as well as the community center get finished. It was in the works before he was born.

“I’m hoping to get funding for the Northern Lehigh Swimming Pool,” he said. Halkias is currently a member of the Northern Lehigh Swimming Pool Association.

The borough does not own the pool. It is run by the Northern Lehigh Swimming Pool Association, which is a nonprofit organization. Stevens said the borough does provide to them a donation every year and provides the chlorine for the pool.

Stevens said that like the pool, the community center is run by a nonprofit organization called the Northern Lehigh Community Center. It is not owned by the borough either. The borough does own some land next to the center and area that would be used for parking.

Speaking of parking, Halkias wants to increase the number of parking spots in the borough. He said the parking lots that are available are either too small or are not easily accessible. The borough has five parking lots, Stevens said. Most of them have been added in the past 12 years.

Halkias said, “What is most important is to make Slatington a good environment for businesses to be brought in. I just want it to be a good place for opportunity, which would also draw more people to live in Slatington. It’s a very nice community.”

Halkias’ family has been in the borough for three generations. He graduated from Northern Lehigh High School in 2020, and is studying business administration at Lehigh Carbon Community College. He is also a member of the Lehigh County Republican Committee, and the newly appointed chairman of the borough council’s Human Community Services committee.

In addition to his community involvement, Halkias has started his entrepreneurial career. He runs a secondhand furniture and antique shop called Reuse in the Slatington Marketplace and has created a photography business called Photo Life. He also manages a residential property.

Halkias is the only person in his family to step into politics, but they have been very supportive. No one tried to dissuade him from running because of his age.

“All of the people that I talked to in Slatington over the course of my campaign were very supportive and they were excited to have a younger person representing the town,” he said.

His mother, Barbara Halkias, said, “Everybody is very encouraged. We hear a lot of good things, and everybody is excited for the change. My husband and I are very supportive of his decision to run for borough council. I’m very proud of him.”

She said she hopes her son can encourage more young people to get involved in the town, the community and even the council. She hopes more businesses come to the borough and that there are more things for people to do there.

“When I was growing up, Main Street was very busy,” she said. “If we had a bakery or a restaurant on Main Street - something to draw the people in - it would be great.”

Halkias said he looks forward to learning from the experience of the other council members, as well as from Jeff Hausman, who also is a newly elected council member and volunteer firefighter.