Slatington Borough Council announced Monday night that the $440,000 multimodal grant they were pursuing has been approved. The funds will be used to straighten out the intersection leading to the Walnut Street bridge. A date for its replacement has not been set yet.

The Multimodal Transportation Fund grant is awarded through the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. As part of the approval for the grant, the borough is required to provide a 20 percent match of $110,000.

Council President Daniel Stevens said council expects the project will begin within a couple years.

The project will be a coordinated effort between Lehigh County, PennDOT and Slatington with the county in charge of the bridge, PennDOT in charge of the state roads, and Slatington overseeing Walnut Street.

“The project needs to be in conjunction with the rebuilding of the bridge,” Stevens said. “We need to work together.”

In other business

Council approved making the new council member Ron Kratz the chair of the Water Committee and current council member Bryon Reed the chairman of the Highway Committee. Council approved the appointment of Nathan Stubbs and Catherine Nelson to the Slatington Parks and Recreation Commission.

Council approved allowing the Vigilant Fire Company to install a bench at the firehouse in honor of Arthur “Ted” Kistler. The borough will prepare the site and put in the pad.

The final bike rack will be put in place by the trail head, Stevens said. And area events including the Running of the Dawgs on April 13, St. Luke’s Hospice Charity Bike Ride on June 1 and two Community Yard Sales on May 17-19 and Sept. 13-15 were approved.

The borough also approved remodeling the staff bathroom at the office of District Magistrate Tom Creighton.

The council approved for the cost of the project to not exceed $5,335. This will cover the cost of materials. The work will be done by students at Lehigh Career and Technical Institute.

“It’s going to be much nicer,” he said.

Stevens said the magistrate has been renting the office space for years from the borough, so the council was accepting the idea to update the staff bathroom.

The public bathroom in the front of the office is already up to date, he said.

Stevens said the council also made a point to thank the Walnut Street Playground Association for paying half the cost to repair the fence at the playground. This was much appreciated.