Palmerton Borough Council has approved a resolution needed to close out a Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Peer-to-Peer Grant that funded a strategic plan for the Palmerton Memorial Park Association.

Borough Manager Autumn Canfield said the strategic planning project cost $19,800, with DCNR providing $18,000 and the PMPA supplying the required $1,800 match.

“The resolution approved is a required step by DCNR to close out the project after the submitted plan is approved,” Canfield said.

The borough applied for the grant on behalf of the PMPA. In December, council approved a consultant contract with Sue Landes, president of Recreation and Parks Solutions and a DCNR peer consultant, to assist with the planning process.

At the time, Canfield said Landes would provide structure and guidance as PMPA developed plans for the future. She noted that Clare Papay helped develop the project’s scope of work.

The strategic planning effort is one of two recent DCNR-funded initiatives involving the PMPA.

The other was a feasibility study of the property leased by the association, which council formally accepted in April. Canfield said the acceptance confirmed the study was completed in accordance with the grant agreement, the report was acceptable to the borough, and the contractor had been paid.

The borough and PMPA worked with MKSD Architects and aquatic consulting firm Counsilman-Hunsaker on the study, which examined the condition of the pool complex and possible future improvements. Consultants presented their findings in May 2025.

Canfield said the feasibility study will serve as a planning document going forward, while the peer grant helped fund professional assistance related to updating the borough’s lease agreement with PMPA.

The PMPA oversees an 18-acre recreation complex that includes a large swimming pool, wading pool, bathhouse, refreshment stand, pavilions and a wooded nature trail. The facility opened in 1947.