Jim Thorpe Borough Council is moving simultaneously on five separate grant applications seeking a combined $3.5 million in state funding for projects ranging from a downtown pedestrian safety overhaul to a new set of police body cameras.

All five applications will formally appear on Thursday night’s action agenda. Together, the requests target three different state funding sources: the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development’s Main Street Matters program; the Commonwealth Financing Authority’s statewide Local Share Assessment program; and a separate Local Share Assessment pool drawn from gaming revenues generated in Monroe County.

The largest single application — $990,000 through the Main Street Matters program — would fund a downtown vehicle and pedestrian safety and ADA enhancement project with a total project cost of approximately $1.1 million. The borough’s required match is $109,399. Main Street Matters, administered by DCED and funded at $20 million statewide in the current budget cycle, supports streetscape, safety, infrastructure and community revitalization work in commercial districts.

Two applications target the statewide Local Share Assessment program, which distributes casino gaming revenue through the Commonwealth Financing Authority to municipalities across Pennsylvania. The first requests over $1.5 million for Phase III of the High Street Wall project.

“This includes work for approximately 300 linear feet of retaining wall and related improvements,” council President Connor Rodgers said. “We are requesting $1,596,792, with a total cost of $1,721,792, leaving a borough commitment of $125,000.”

“We did get a prior LSA award of $100,000,” Borough Manager Maureen Sterner said.

Two additional applications draw from a separate Local Share Assessment pool funded by gaming revenues generated at Mount Airy Casino Resort in Monroe County. The first targets Memorial Park. “This is for the LSA Monroe grant for Memorial Park Phase Three, requesting $406,941 for site prep and two fence-enclosed regulation basketball courts with ADA access and seating,” Rodgers said. “Total project costs are $1,292,741. Of that, $535,800 is from a prior DCNR award, $250,000 from a prior DCED award, and $100,000 in borough funds.”

The final application would update the borough’s public safety technology suite. “This is for LSA Monroe and we are requesting $184,435.80 for police body cameras, in-car camera technology replacement, license plate readers, software training and secure digital evidence management,” Rodgers said.

If all five applications are fully successful, the borough would secure $3,485,221 in new state grant funding. The projects would require a combined borough match of roughly $420,000 in various forms across all five, though some of that obligation has already been addressed through prior budget commitments and existing grant awards.

None of the applications are guaranteed. The statewide LSA and Monroe LSA programs both fund projects on a competitive basis through the Commonwealth Financing Authority, and the Main Street Matters program evaluates applications against statewide priorities set by DCED.