Walnutport has applied for a pair of state grants to pay for facilities improvements.

On a unanimous measure, borough council on Thursday approved resolutions for a Monroe County LSA grant, along with a Northampton & Lehigh County LSA grant, to replace the heating system in the borough building.

Before the vote, borough public works director Mike Wentz noted that the borough has three major needs at this point.

Wentz said those include heat in the borough building, specifically the furnace, radios for the police and fire departments, and its boom mower.

“I would do both grants for the furnace,” Wentz said. “I believe that is our priority.”

Wentz noted that is only the tip of the iceberg.

“We got a lot of decisions to make in the next 18 months to two years,” he said.

Borough engineer Jason Newhard noted that the furnace is 70 years old.

“So, you’re going to have to live through this winter yet,” Newhard said.

In December, Wentz said it would cost $16,000 to update all the heat pumps, and that it could come out of American Rescue Funds.

Wentz said at the time that while the building had temporary heat, a permanent solution was necessary.

Council then on a 6-0 vote agreed to have the borough secretary transfer money out of American Rescue Funds to cover furnace repair expenses and extra police vacation/sick time expenses that were approved earlier in 2023.

In November, council agreed to have LVR reline the furnace at a cost of $3,800. Wentz said the borough only paid a small portion of that after it was discovered what the exact problem was.

That came after Wentz said the age of the furnace, coupled with the fact inside brick is deteriorating, caused the back wall behind the furnace to crumble and fall in.

In November, Wentz noted that the Lehigh County Communications Center will be changing radio frequencies, which means the borough has to buy all new radios.

He said at that time if the borough wouldn’t receive a grant, to equip the police department alone would cost the borough $130,000.

Wentz said that Diamond Fire Company has to do the same, and added that cost is projected at $240,000.

After that meeting, Wentz said that the fire company previously applied for a grant for the radios.

He said at that time the plan was to apply for a $300,000 grant; of that, $170,000 would be for the fire company and $130,000 for the police department.

Also in November, council approved a resolution for Statewide LSA gaming funds grant for a new boom mower for the canal.

Wentz said after the meeting that the borough has a 1995 tractor with a 15-foot boom mower that it uses to cut on the canal, and that it’s getting harder to get parts for the mower.