The first phase to renovate a century-old iconic building in Palmerton will be put out to bid.

Borough council on a 5-0 vote Thursday agreed to advertise bid for the Palmerton Area Library renovations funded by two Local Share Account grants the library previously received.

Councilmen Kris Hoffner and Richard Nothstein were absent.

In April, the library received $600,000 in grants to assist with water damage repairs and restoration to its building.

The library was awarded the funding through the Keystone Grant for Public Library Facilities program.

The program, which is administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Office of Commonwealth Libraries, supports projects that improve library infrastructure, including upgrades for accessibility, energy efficiency and essential building systems, as well as renovations and expansions of public spaces.

Christine DeSousa, library director, said at that time they are only done with part of the planning phase, and added they would be putting bid packages out for the first phase of restoration.

In December, the library received a $468,000 grant to repair masonry and replace windows as part of its ongoing restoration project.

At that time, DeSousa said that the cost of the restoration project was estimated between $1.3 million to $1.4 million.

In May 2025, the library received a $100,000 grant through the Monroe County Contiguous Local Share Account for library renovations.

Those funds will be used to repair the deteriorating facade of the library to prevent water damage.

DeSousa previously said the estimation for getting the masonry work done to the outside of the building remains at just over $600,000 (work that has yet to be done).

She added that the $100,000 grant that was received will likely go toward that part of the larger building restoration project.

DeSousa said that in 2024, the library had over 30,000 users.

Phase 1 of the restoration project, the portion of the west wall, has been completed, and cost about $75,000.

In 2023, Jack Woginrich, treasurer for Palmerton Area Library, told council that the library had been putting a “Band-Aid” on building damage for roughly the last decade, spending about $100,000.

The parapet top stone was slated for removal, and a water diversion system installed that will channel the rainwater from dripping down the parapet wall to the roof membrane and then to the drain.

Also, the stones on the outside of the building would be cleaned and restored, plus the silicone joint compound would be removed and replaced with a sand-based grout that will breathe and release water instead of sealing it in.