Lansford Borough Council voted to apply for a Keystone Historic Preservation grant from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission grant to develop the borough’s former train station on Dock Street.

“I was contacted by the commission, (PHMC)” Markovich said. “Ever since we established our historic district, nobody ever contacted them for a grant for the historic district.”

Markovich said plans for the train station have not been finalized, but perhaps it could be a visitors’ center.

“This is the last Lehigh and New England train station,” Markovich said. “We have a $95,970 grant we can use to match this grant for the first phase of renovations.”

In 2022, Lansford voted to pay $150,000 to acquire the former freight and passenger station along Dock Street from Ken and Jeannie Hill, who operated a machine shop there for 50 years. The station was built in 1925. The railroad stopped operating there in the 1960s.

Carbon Career and Technical Institute design and mechanical engineering students completed conceptual drawings featuring market and food stalls, gift shops and a museum room at the 100-year-old brick station.

Police station

Council also voted this week to authorize ARRO to work up a cost estimate to convert the former Silberline office building on Dock Street into the borough police station.

Markovich said the present police station in the basement of the borough building presents safety concerns for officers.

“It’s a large building.” Markovich said. “It has 13 offices, nine bathrooms, two conference rooms, a fire-proof room and a vault.”

Councilwoman Jennifer Staines said a kitchen and shower would have to be added for the police department.

Some residents questioned whether the location of the building would be best for the police department.

“Sure, I’d like to have a building in the center of town, like the old bank,” said Councilman Jack Soberick. “But that would mean taking another building off the tax rolls.”

“And we already own the building,” Markovich said. “This is just to get an idea what it will cost.”

Council voted that ARRO’s work not exceed $2,000.

“This would be a ballpark figure,” McMullen said. “It would be what it would cost to bring it up to code.”

There was an item on the agenda to create a policy for council members to conduct background checks on prospective borough employees.

Council members questioned whether they should do it. Soberick said the police department has done it in the past, and can still to it at least temporarily.

There was also a motion to pay extradition costs in connection with a vehicle theft, but Soberick said it was not necessary for the borough to incur those costs.

Other business

In other business, council voted:

• To have attorney Robert Yurchak, the borough solicitor, reopen the police contract to purchase new firearms for the police department.

• To increase Yurchak’s hourly rate from $100 to $110, but keep his annual retainer at $3,000.

• To retain the services of LGH Tax and Accounting to provide accounting services to the borough at a rate of $65 per hour.

• To hire Shantel Lauer as a part-time borough secretary on an as-needed basis.

• To approve the transfer of lease from Silberline to Altana Corporation for space within their former manufacturing plant. Markovich said the transfer of lease is a part of the sale of Silberline to Altana.

• Tabled termination of a lease with Construction Clearance on the Silberline building until more information is obtained.