Lehighton remains committed to converting a portion of the Packerton Yards property provided by Carbon County for recreational space.

Councilwoman Autumn Abelovsky brought the topic up for discussion at Monday’s borough council meeting.

Borough Manager Dane DeWire said the 71-acre parcel along the river, which stretches between Lehighton Borough and Mahoning Township, required a survey and subdivision in order for the borough to acquire the 26 acres within the municipality limits.

DeWire noted that the contract for that survey and subdivision was awarded to Keystone Consulting Engineers last year.

He said that since then, the survey has been completed, and it has been determined that Blue Ridge Real Estate currently holds the deeds to two tracts of property that make up a piece of the 26-acre parcel.

At the end of the summer, DeWire said appraisals for the two properties were provided to Blue Ridge Real Estate so that they and their legal counsel could make a decision on how to move forward with the project.

“As of last week, (borough solicitor Jim) Nanovic had received correspondence back from Blue Ridge Real Estate’s legal counsel, and borough council will now need to decide how to proceed during budgetary talks next week,” DeWire said.

In January, council on a 6-0 vote, with one abstention, approved the Riverfront property acquisition survey proposal from Keystone Consulting Engineers. Councilman Steve Hawk abstained.

Before the vote, DeWire urged council to act on the matter at the behest of the Carbon County commissioners, whom he said almost sold the property out from under the borough in the summer.

DeWire said that council had previously received four proposals for the riverfront property acquisition survey that were in the amount of $45,000, $39,000, $35,000 and $17,000.

He then recommended that council go with either the $45,000 proposal or the $35,000 proposal.

Councilman John Kreitz asked if it was accounted for in this year’s budget.

DeWire said it was, and added the borough wants the property for recreational purposes.

Abelovsky, who made the motion to approve the $45,000 proposal, said she felt it ironic that after 10 years of discussing the matter, council was urged to act swiftly on the matter.

Still, she believes the possibility of expanding the borough’s recreation and tourism is a great opportunity.

In August 2024, the county commissioners approved an agreement with Lehighton to allow the borough to hire a licensed surveyor to conduct a survey of about 23 acres of the former Packerton Yards rail yard.

The plans call for possibly subdividing and transferring that portion of the land to the borough.

Commissioner Wayne Nothstein said the acreage the county will transfer is only in Lehighton, with the remaining 40-plus acres located in Mahoning Township.

He noted that most of the land is in a flood plain, between the Lehigh River and the railroad tracks.

Carbon County purchased the property in 2004 with the vision of creating an industrial area; however, after long legal battles, which included several injunctions and finally a ruling against the county’s request to not install sidewalks into the site, the land has sat vacant ever since.

DeWire said the borough plans to create a park, trails and a boat launch, to boost the downtown business district, its riverfront district, and to tie in with the D&L Trail.

The former Packerton yards parcel in Mahoning Township remains for sale.

The commissioners said that there had been some questions from business owners about the site and they are willing to hear from anyone interested in making an offer.