A Montgomery County firm has been hired to replace a deteriorating retaining wall in the downtown area of Jim Thorpe.

Access Stabilization was given the contract totaling $442,085 to replace 100 feet of the wall along High Street.To finance the project, the borough council on Thursday agreed to borrow $460,000 from Mauch Chunk Trust Company at an annual percentage rate of 2.60 with no prepayment penalty.The borough's engineer was instructed to look at other sections of the wall to determine if additional repairs are necessary.The vote passed unanimously to hire Access, with councilman Jay Miller abstaining because of his affiliation with Jim Thorpe Neighborhood Bank.Councilman John McGuire said he is concerned about the condition of the rest of the wall.The council agreed that it will revisit the scope of the project if the engineer determines more repairs are needed.David Bodner of the Carbon County Office of Planning and Development conducted a hearing for the 2017 Community Development Block Grant funds.He said the total block grant for 2017 is $88,377, which will be used to replace water main pipes on School Street from North Street to Center Street.There will be $18,146.56 used from 2016 block grant funds to complete the project.Bodner said over the next three years, the borough would like to use Block Grant funds to replace storm drains and reconstruct streets.