Palmerton needs to look at potential changes for short-term rentals because of the growth in tourism from Blue Mountain Ski Area.

On Thursday, Donna McGarry, borough manager, sat with the Carbon County Commissioners as the first municipality to accept the county’s offer to provide a state of the municipality update.

McGarry said the borough is going to have to revisit ordinances that do not allow short-term rentals, such as AirBNB or VRBO because as Blue Mountain Ski Resort continues to grow, additional visitors are coming to the area and need lodging.

“I think that borough will need to address the positive development of Blue Mountain Ski Resort and how that is going to affect the lower Carbon County region,” she said. “... Short-term rentals aren’t currently allowed in our zoning, but that may be something that we will have to look at and see what the need is going to be.”

In addition, McGarry provided updates on how the borough is operating.

She said that through several initiatives and efforts, Palmerton is doing well, with a bustling business district; an active park that promotes community events; strong organizations and volunteer bases who do everything from operating the pool and organizing festivals to helping with the cat population.

“The town has many things going for it,” McGarry said. “A lot of that comes from good leadership and people that work together very well. The town is also blessed with a lot of volunteers and a lot of organizations that do things.

“... We are very thankful to all of them.”

The fire company is also seeing growth, with a 40-member volunteer base.

“We have good leadership there and we don’t want to stop at 40,” McGarry said.

Currently, Palmerton is working on a few capital projects, including sewer line repairs and applying for grants for the fire department.

Looking ahead, in addition to short-term rentals, McGarry said that Palmerton is taking part in a trailway feasibility study through the Wildlife Conservancy to determine a possible trail from Kunkletown to Palmerton.

The borough is also working with Northface Development and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation on access points to the property along Route 248 being developed and necessary pool upgrades.

The commissioners thanked McGarry for coming and commended borough officials for their efforts to create a beautiful town for the residents.

All municipalities were sent letters earlier this year offering officials to come in to speak on the municipality’s accomplishments and challenges.