Additional benches around perimeter of Upper Park nixed

Lehighton will not add benches around the perimeter of its Upper Park due to budgetary restraints.

Consideration to add nine perimeter benches in the amount of $15,000 came up short at Monday’s borough council meeting.

Borough manager Nicole Beckett notified council members that the borough doesn’t have the funds for those benches.

Councilman Donnie Rehrig said that while the benches would be a nice addition, now isn’t the right time.

“There’s no doubt we want to see them up there,” Rehrig said. “It’s a matter of time and money.”

Councilwoman Autumn Abelovsky noted that the Parks & Recreation Board has raised $40,000 for benches through the capital campaign project to pay for about 25 benches.

In conjunction with the Upper Park project, the borough offered the painted benches that once graced the park back to those who sponsored them.

Replacement pavers in the newly renovated amphitheater were made available to those interested in continuing the honor or memory that the benches represented.

Abelovsky said the Upper Park project “will mirror the Lower Park project that was completed in 2016,” and that the old park benches will be replaced with “more comfortable and aesthetically pleasing seating that will be easier for patrons of the amphitheater to get in and out of. Upgraded electric, new light posts and paved walkways will be met with newly poured concrete for the amphitheater seating area.”

On a 5-0 vote at a special meeting in June, council agreed to award a contract for the Upper Park renovation project in the amount of $468,500 to Kobalt Construction Inc., which was also the project coordinator for the borough’s refurbished downtown park.

The borough received funding in the amount of $350,000 from the Commonwealth Financing Authority for improvements to the park, which is used for concerts, movies and other community events.

That includes $150,000 that was received from the Greenways, Trails and Recreation Program for improvements to the Upper Park Amphitheater, as well as $200,000 from the Multimodal Transportation Funds for streetscape and pedestrian improvements to the streets around the upper park.

In December, council announced it planned to get new benches for the Upper Park through a capital campaign project.

At that time, Abelovsky said the number one complaint she received was that people were uncomfortable sitting on the benches that were in the amphitheater.

Abelovsky said the amphitheater is used by a lot of groups for concerts, movies and other community events.

She said the cost for a new bench would be about $1,000 each, or a total of $40,000.

Abelovsky said they have received a matching donation of $20,000, meaning they would only need to raise $20,000.

She said the board is still accepting donations from $10 to $1,000 or more to the park bench capital campaign.

Abelovsky said that if a donation will cover the cost of the entire project, plaques would be considered.