Robert Benjamin, an employee of Joe Mitzen Building and Remodeling, wields a hammer to install new sofitting in preparation for installing a new roof on Lansford's original council house/jailhouse at Patterson and Walnut streets. The two-story structure was built in 1877. Members of Lansford Alive successfully applied for a $20,000 state Department of Community and Economic Development Legislative Initiative grant, secured by former state Rep./House Speaker Keith McCall, to buy and restore the old stone building. The new roof will be made of a material that closely resembles the original slate. Volunteers with Lansford Alive, the borough's historical society and the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, will work on the interior. Dale Freudenberger, who works with all three groups, said the building may eventually house a tourist information/borough welcome center.