Grants Awarded for Jim Thorpe East Side Landscaping Projects

By Christopher Holland • The Current Contributing Writer

Jim Thorpe Borough’s Shade Tree Commission was awarded two grants for landscaping projects in the borough that will help adorn the east side of town.

The borough applied for a $5,000 grant through DCNR’s 2018 Tree Vitalize program, which would cover half of the $10,000 cost for a crowning project in the borough to trim tree branches on North Street.

“This will improve site distance for vehicle and pedestrian traffic,” said Maureen Sterner, Jim Thorpe Borough manager.

An additional $1,000 came from Mauch Chunk Trust Company on behalf of the Robert B. Connor Foundation, and other funding of $2,300 is coming from the borough and in-kind contributions.

The second grant is for a beautification project at 102 North St., a property the borough acquired from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation after construction of the Sgt. Andrew J. “AJ” Baddick Memorial Bridge over the Lehigh River was completed in July, 2016.

In a landscape plan provided by the borough, the project will include a shade tree, an evergreen shrub border and ground cover with bulbs. There will also be a bench in front of the landscaping.

Borough officials said that they will also be installing a directional sign which will be visible for those coming from the west side of the borough crossing the memorial bridge.

While not yet finalized, the sign would follow the existing Delaware & Lehigh National Corridor signs located within the borough.

The sign could potentially include:

• East Side Businesses—with an arrow pointing north on North St./Route 903.

• Food and Beverage Markets—with an arrow pointing east toward the Jim Thorpe Market complex.

• Municipal Complex or Police Department, Municipal Offices and Memorial Park—with an arrow pointing north on North St./Route 903.

• Lehigh Gorge State Park—with an arrow pointing west.

Total cost for the project is $4,000 with $1,000 coming from Lehigh Valley Main Street Beautification Grant, $1,000 from Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor funding and $2,000 from the borough.

There is currently no timeline of when these projects will start.