Council approves revised funding letter for upper park project

Lehighton remains committed to improving the overall look of its upper park.

Borough council unanimously agreed Monday to approve the revised funding commitment letter for the state Department of Community & Economic Development Multimodal Grant funds for the upper park connectivity project.

Borough Manager Nicole Beckett mentioned that the grant is for $85,714, which requires a 30 percent match from the borough.

Beckett outlined the current scope of work to include:

• The cracked and buckling asphalt pathway within the Upper Park will be torn up and replaced with an ADA-accessible flagstone paver walkway to connect recently improved ADA ramps at each corner of the park to create an uninterrupted pedestrian path.

• Design and materials will be consistent with that of the recently improved Lower Park section of Town Center.

• Outdated street lighting will be replaced with modern, comparable equivalents to improve security and safety.

• The existing stormwater system will be improved to divert the water from the improved walkways.

• Four benches and two trash cans will further encourage slower traffic by drawing attention to pedestrian use of the perimeter streets (less than initially proposed)

Beckett said the borough had removed the perimeter sidewalk and curbing replacement along with crosswalks, pedestrian crossing signs and street trees.

She said the original project budget was $530,093. However, the grant award was less than the amount requested in the application, said Beckett, who added that the new budget is $285,960.

In March, council agreed to submit an application for a Greenways, Trails and Recreation Program grant. Council also approved a funding commitment letter for the grant.

Council in 2016 approved a resolution approving the submission of the PennDOT Multimodal Grant to be used for the upper park pedestrian connection improvements.

Council also approved a funding commitment letter for the Department of Community and Economic Development Greenways, Trails and Recreation Program grant for improvements to the park.

Beckett previously said the upper park project would consist of curbing, sidewalks, lighting, walkway improvements and better accessibility.

The funds can be used to enhance communities by coordinating land use with transportation assets for projects related to streetscapes, lighting, sidewalks, pedestrian safety or transit-oriented development.

In June 2016, the borough held a rededication ceremony of the Colonel Jacob Weiss Park.

That project also involved the installation of new sidewalks, new walkways, crosswalks, landscaping, fountain updates, a relocation of the memorial pavers and the cleaning and restoring of the Colonel Weiss statue.

The lower park’s $600,000 transformation was funded by the borough and the Commonwealth Financing Authority, while the improvements were designed by Barry Isett and Associates in 2009.