PPL Electric is replacing light poles in downtown Jim Thorpe and early reviews from residents have included descriptions such as “hideous” and “an abomination.”

Borough council was peppered with comments during its Thursday night meeting regarding the poles, 18 of which the utility company is swapping out on West Broadway.

“These light poles are hideous,” said borough resident Todd Morris. “We have a historic town that needs to be preserved in that way. This is something serious and it needs to be addressed.”

Four poles had been replaced with new fiberglass ones, according to Council President Greg Strubinger, as of Thursday night.

“PP&L reps erroneously communicated to residents that these poles were the borough’s choice,” Strubinger said. “We had no input in the style of pole replaced by PP&L.”

When the new Route 903 bridge was being constructed, Strubinger added, the borough was told PP&L provides a standard pole and if the municipality wanted something above and beyond that, they would have to pay for it themselves.

That could get costly, Councilman Robert Schaninger explained.

“You’re not just talking about the cost of the poles then, around $7,500 each, you’re talking $200 an hour for them to come out with four guys and do the work,” Schaninger said. “To remove one pole, it’s a two-day job.”

Morris was far from the only one concerned about the new pole style. Robert Ewashko dubbed them “an abomination.”

“We’re a national historic area and I’m sure there could have been ways to have historically appropriate poles covered under a grant for this type of area,” Ewashko said.

Before Thursday’s meeting, Borough Manager Maureen Sterner said the municipality has reached out to PP&L to inquire if a different type of pole would be possible.

“We were not offered anything different ahead of time, but we’re waiting to hear back now if that is something they can do,” Sterner told Thursday’s meeting crowd.