Lansford Borough Council on Tuesday took the first step toward joining Blueprint Communities, a training and capacity building program aimed at regional revitalization.

State Sen. David Argall’s chief of staff, Christine Verdier, spoke to council members about being part of a core team from the Panther Valley communities to participate.

Approximately 10 to 12 members from the core team, which would include Lansford, Summit Hill, Nesquehoning and Coaldale, would commit to an 18-month training program.

The core members would be community representatives, such as council members or other community leader, a real estate developer or specialist, a member of a community organization, an economic development professional and an employee of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh.

The FHL Bank started the initiative in 2005, working with communities in Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, Verdier said. The bank is required by its federal charter to give back to communities, she said.

Those participating will learn about community development, development initiatives and put together a regional plan for their communities, Verdier explained.

They will also have the opportunity to connect to resources, such as the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and the Department of Community and Economic Development regarding funding, she said.

The program also opens the door to some federal and national nonprofit and foundation funding sources, Verdier said. The regional approach toward community development also finds favors in the grant process, she said.

The Panther Valley team is not guaranteed a slot in the training program, as communities from Susquehanna River east will be applying and competing for a slot, she said.

“But we’re trying to position the Panther Valley group to get the information that will be necessary that will position them well to be supported by this program,” Verdier said.

The applications close in December, and communities will be notified in April, she said. The team then takes part in the 18-month training process, which will begin with a daylong training session in Harrisburg in April.

The training will then move around so that the community teams will not always be traveling as far for the sessions, she said.

There is a $2,000 participation fee for the team, which will come back to the communities in the form of the group’s first project, Verdier said.

Council President Bruce Markovich, who said he would be part of the team as a member of the Lansford Historical Society, has met with others from the other Panther Valley communities about this program.

They all agree that the main thing that they would like to see the program accomplish is jobs, Markovich said.

“We have to get jobs back into the valley, whether that development is going to take place in Nesquehoning to try to get jobs in some other community, but the number one priority is jobs,” he said.

“Number two was our downtown,” Markovich said. “Everyone agreed with our downtown. That was going to be the number two thing on our list was to get our downtown back in Lansford.”

Both council members and residents had questions about the participation fee, the 18-month commitment and funding.

Verdier said that communities actually commit to 10 years, and the training is 18-month, and that core group comes back and trains others in the community as well.

Tamaqua is one of the original participants, and one of the program’s success stories, Verdier said. Their participation ended in 2015, she said.

Resident Rose Mary Cannon said there was a similar program years ago, the Renaissance Program. She said it took off and then fell flat.

“I don’t see our borough having that kind of dedicated people,” she said, noting that most people don’t come to meetings or pay attention to what is happening in their community until they have a problem.

Council moved to participate in the Blueprint Communities program. Councilman Martin Ditsky was the only council member opposed.