Jim Thorpe Borough officials took a first step Thursday night to addressing drainage issues in town and part of the solution will come at the expense of homeowners.

Council voted to pave Front Street this summer from Center to South Street and require property owners with frontage along that stretch to pay for curbing installation.

The debate over whether residents or the borough should pay for curbing has been at the forefront of council discussions for years. Jim Thorpe’s current ordinance puts the responsibility on the property owner.

“That ordinance hasn’t been enforced over the years, but to do this project right, we need to have the curbing be a part of it,” Councilman Jay Miller said. “We can’t lay macadam if we don’t have proper drainage. I can’t see putting good money after bad.”

Borough officials estimated the cost for curbing at $45 per foot. There is about 400 feet of frontage on each side of Front Street that would need to be curbed. One side fronts Twining Park, which is entirely borough owned, and the municipality estimates around four property owners would be affected on the opposite side of the street.

The borough would commit to doing the digging, Miller said, so the cost to the property owner would likely be less than the estimated $45 per foot.

Borough Manager Maureen Sterner said about $120,000 is available for the project.

Jim Thorpe resident Andrew Roberts suggested the borough could offer some type of financing plan to residents to allow them to pay over time.

“The borough could pay to have the work done and then put a lien on the property, which is a type of financing in a sense,” Solicitor Jim Nanovic told council. “It’s not popular, but it is a way to go about it.”

In past years when the borough has finalized its street paving list, it has sent property owners along the route letters to inform them it may be a good time to install curbing.

“We historically have not received any response to those letters,” Sterner said during a workshop last week.

One of the major trouble spots in terms of runoff and drainage is Center Street.

Councilman Mike Yeastedt said the borough would like to do a project there, but the size and scope exceed what the municipality has budgeted for the work this year.

“What we’re hoping is that Center Street can become a grant project for us down the line,” he said. “But we have to start somewhere or else we’re just kicking the can down the road.”

Though Center Street is a main target, getting Front Street done will be a big help, Public Service Manager Vince Yaich said.

“We do see heavy runoff there down through the park,” Yaich said. “In fact a lot of times it will run down over the wall there to River Street.”

Though the precedent has now been set in terms of property owners paying for curbing, Miller said it doesn’t mean you’ll see curbs throughout the entire town.

“I think we still have to use our discretion in areas where it doesn’t make sense to curb,” he said. “We’ll do what we have to in order to get this drainage done right.

“We’re getting more and more of these major rain events. If we do this right, we won’t have to go back to these roads for 15-20 years.”