Lehighton borough officials heard pleas this week to keep the baseball diamond at Baer Memorial Park.

Resident Greg Mriss was among over a dozen supporters who attended Monday’s borough council meeting to show their support for the ball diamond.

Mriss, a public works department employee, asked council to “keep our very last baseball field in the community that we have intact.”

“I’m all in favor of helping the kids, all the kids,” Mriss said.

Kevin O’Donnell, information officer for the Franklin Township Little League, said more than 400 children are involved with the Franklin Township Athletic Association.

O’Donnell said many of the teams have fared extremely well and noted there are few baseball fields in the area.

“Baseball is very important in the area,” said O’Donnell, who told council he hopes they keep Baer Memorial as a ball diamond.

Mike Birnbaum, president of the Franklin Township Little League, told council he also wants to keep the baseball field.

“It’s a necessary valuable tool for us as a practice facility,” Birnbaum said.

Jim Albert, a team manager, told council, “It’s really crucial to keep that field at Baer.”

Council decided to table a motion for a new sketch for the Baer Memorial project, and also to table a motion to proceed with the Baer Memorial project.

Last month, council agreed to alter its plans for the project to include a soccer field in place of a multipurpose field.

The plan included removing the baseball diamond at Baer Memorial, while basketball courts and bleachers would be installed, and a walking trail constructed within the park. There would also be handicap accessibility and parking.

The basketball courts are slated to replace the one at the Grove and to provide an opportunity for summer leagues and camps, along with free court time for general use.

The total cost of the project is $400,000. The borough was awarded a $200,000 grant from DCNR as part of the Community Conservation Partnership Program.

Borough secretary Brenda Kreitz said in January that the borough had spent $17,480 on Baer Memorial for engineering and design toward the project.

Borough Manager Nicole Beckett said at that time her concern is that the borough already has two executed Department of Conservation and Natural Resources grant contracts that council approved last year for the Grove Master Site Plan & Recreation Center Feasibility Study, and Baer Memorial Park Improvements.