Palmerton won’t back the study into whether or not an abandoned rail line can become a multi-municipality connecting trail - at least not at this stage.

Christopher Strohler, a senior conservation planner at the Emmaus-based Wildlands Conservancy, first brought that idea to borough council in January. Strohler said the conservancy has owned a rail line with Eldred Township in Monroe County for years; it spans about 4 miles, stretching from Eldred to Little Gap in Lower Towamensing and outside Palmerton’s boundaries.

The first step to turn the railway into a public footpath would be a feasibility study, which Strohler said the conservancy wants to fund in part by applying for a Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources grant. The rest of the study would need to be covered by municipalities involved, including Palmerton, Lower Towamensing and Eldred.

Palmerton’s part would total $10,000, split between 2021 and 2022.

At their March meeting, Palmerton council members debated if the borough should put that money forward.

Andrew Hollywood, a newcomer to the body who heads its recreations committee, had attended planning meetings for the trail, coming to the conclusion that for what it’s paying, Palmerton won’t get much from the trail.

It wouldn’t include much of the borough, Hollywood said.

“I wasn’t left with a good feeling at all,” Hollywood said in late March.

“Palmerton is the crown jewel of their whole project. I feel like they should be wanting to get us in on their plan without even having us finance it, because our part of it is so small.”

Other council members said they had more questions than answers concerning the trail, like how it would connect to the D&L, which runs through the Lehigh Valley, and more broadly, the state. And how supportive are the two other municipalities going to be?

Despite the DCNR grant application’s April deadline, council members tabled the matter until their next meeting. In the meantime, President Terry Costenbader said a representative from the conservancy had to fill in some blanks.

“I think somebody ought to talk to us,” Costenbader said at last month’s meeting. “If that’s not possible, then it’s going to die.”

At Palmerton council’s meeting Thursday, there was no conservancy member in attendance. With a list of questions still unanswered, funding for the feasibility study was unanimously denied.

If the conservancy wishes to pursue the study at a later date, Councilman Michael Ballard pointed out, that decision could be reversed.

“This can be revisited,” Ballard said. “It doesn’t have to be done now. They can always go to the state and go for another grant for the study.”

As of now, another member said, the plan isn’t concrete enough.

“At the present time,” Councilman Kris Hoffner said, “there’s just too many uncertain financial questions.”

Lower Towamensing supervisors discussed the trail in early March. While some members expressed excitement about the prospective trail, the study carried a hefty price tag for the township.

The body was expected to vote on whether or not to participate in the grant application at their April meeting.

Also on Thursday, Donna McGarry, Palmerton manager, announced that the borough is looking for someone to fill its open emergency management coordinator position.