Photo by Derek Redd Bethlehem Village officials and representatives from Huffner Contracting cut the ribbon on the new stairway at Bethlehem Community Park. Pictured are, from left, Phil Huffner of Huffner Contracting; Bethlehem Mayor Matthew Saseen; Melanie Trabert, Bethlehem Parks and Recreation Manager; Rick Morgan of Huffner Contracting and Bethlehem Ward 6 Councilman Tom Auten.

The Village of Bethlehem has a new stairway connecting its community shelter and the rest of its Community Park, just in time to be ready for an 80th birthday celebration that will be bigger than usual.

Village officials and representatives from Huffner Contracting, which completed the project, met at Bethlehem Community Park on Tuesday to cut the ribbon the new stairway. Bethlehem Mayor Matthew Saseen said replacing the old stairway, which had fallen into disrepair, had become a top priority.

“Our last steps we had, they served their purpose and we got quite a good amount of use out of them,” he said. “But as many things do happen, it was time to upgrade and council saw that it was time for us to make an investment into the park.”

Phil Huffner of Huffner Contracting said the stairs include a composite material on the railings to eliminate the issue of splinters, while adding space and grooves along the outside of the rails to allow for a better grip.

The stairs are now ready for the village’s July 2 birthday celebration. Melanie Trabert, parks and recreation manager for the village, said that for the 80th birthday celebration, the village wanted to make sure it held the event on the village’s actual birthday.

There will be plenty to do that day for everyone, including an interactive storybook walk around the park for kids, games, inflatables, and a fireworks display that Trabert said will be double the size of the usual display.

“We just wanted to celebrate the village and all of its accomplishments,” Trabert said. “We’re very excited. The kids always enjoy it. It’s a huge event here every year and this year, we just wanted to make it bigger and better.”