Slatington looks to fill vacancy following passing of councilman

Slatington Borough Council intends to fill a vacancy brought upon by the recent passing of a council member.

The borough will accept letters of interest for the empty seat until 4:30 p.m. Jan. 21.

Council President Dan Stevens said the vacancy exists due to the passing of Councilman Russell Hallman.

Stevens said Hallman, who served multiple terms on council, passed away on Dec. 23.

Whoever is appointed to the seat will serve on council this year, he said.

The seat will then be up for grabs in 2020, Stevens said.

He said council is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. Jan. 14.

However, Stevens said council will likely schedule a special meeting on Jan. 21, at which time it hopes to appoint a new council member.

Stevens said Hallman was a tremendous asset to the borough, as he served as chairman of the Northern Lehigh Events Committee, and was heavily involved in the Northern Lehigh Halloween Parade.

“He was extremely involved,” Stevens said. “He’s probably the main reason that we still have one (Halloween Parade).”

Stevens added, “Russ is going to be sorely missed in the community because he did so much for the community. There’s a lot of things he did for the community that a lot of people didn’t know about. He didn’t want any publicity about it.”