Jim Thorpe Borough officials said last week they expect to hear by the end of 2021 on a U.S. Senate Appropriations bill that could pump over $1 million into facility upgrades at Memorial Hall.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey’s office sent a press release on Oct. 20, noting the inclusion of congressionally directed funding for five projects around northeastern Pennsylvania in the Senate Fiscal Year 2022 Appropriations bills.

If passed into law, the spending bill would include $1.46 million for Jim Thorpe to help it repair Memorial Hall, a project it has been planning for several years.

The work on the hall, which would include a new HVAC system, would allow the borough to move its administrative offices to a portion of the top floor of that building, while moving its police department to the bottom floor, which used to be a roller skating rink.

“I’m pleased to advance this critical funding for projects that support infrastructure, the economy, the military and community development in northeastern Pennsylvania,” Casey said in October. “As we build back better, these investments will help revitalize communities across the region. I will continue to advocate for resources for our commonwealth and work with my colleagues to get these spending bills passed into law.”

Jim Thorpe Borough Manager Maureen Sterner said she recently had a phone conversation with Casey’s office regarding the appropriations bill.

“They are hopeful that decisions are going to be made by the end of the year,” Sterner said. “They thanked us for submitting the projects and doing the work to get that into them and we thanked them for continuing to move it forward.”

Jim Thorpe bid the hall project and a new, 26,000-square-foot public works garage late last year, but bids came back at $3.72 million and $3.27 million respectively, which is around $1.5 million more each than the borough had originally estimated.

Jim Thorpe raised taxes by 2.56 mills in 2021, in large part to help pay for the two proposed projects.

The borough also plans to build a new public works garage on property the borough owns across from the water department on West Broadway.

Four other projects Casey’s office said he advocated for to be included in the appropriations subcommittee bills are $200,000 to the Downtown Hazleton Alliance for Progress to support the fourth and final phase of renovation to a formerly blighted property, located in the Downtown Hazleton’s Main Street District, for the purpose of providing leasable low cost flex-office and micro-scale manufacturing space to homegrown entrepreneurs and business startups; $75,000 to the United Way of Wyoming Valley to support the grade-level reading initiatives, including supplies to carry out a mentorship program, workbooks for students, and personal supplies necessary to safely and consistently attend class; $350,000 to Downtown Shenandoah Inc. to create a co-working space with support services for small businesses; and $250,000 to the Commission on Economic Opportunity to build a 15,000-square-foot addition at the Weinberg Regional Food Bank in Jenkins Township.