The future use of three Jim Thorpe Borough buildings is ultimately in the hands of borough council, but the governing body got a bit of advice Thursday night from the firm it hired to do a feasibility study.

Spillman Farmer Architects unveiled the results of the $6,900 study on the most efficient use of space at the public works building, borough hall and Memorial Park event venue, all owned by the municipality.Part of the recommendations included building a new public works building outside of the Memorial Park complex, where the current facility is located; and moving the police department and/or borough administration offices to Memorial Hall, a part of which would still be used to host events.The police and borough administration currently share a building, built 10 years ago, along East Tenth Street."Our first option would involve relocating the police department to the top floor of Memorial Hall and shrinking the space used for events by about 50 to 60 percent," said Blaine Summitt, of Spillman Farmer. "There is still more than enough space there to hold events. It wouldn't hold the same seating capacity, but you would comfortably get 250 people in there. It would also allow the borough administration to spread out and use all of borough hall."Sal Verrastro, of Spillman Farmer, said the public works, police and borough administration departments are all "currently space deficient."A shared building entry point for the police department and borough staff also creates a security concern, he said.The second option outlined in the study would have the police department moving to the bottom floor of Memorial Hall, which is a no longer utilized roller skating rink. Borough administration would then split the top floor of the hall with the event space."This would give everyone the space they need and allow room for growth," Summitt said. "You could also choose to lease borough hall or use it for something else."Moving the police department would be just over $1 million, according to Spillman Farmer's estimate, while moving the borough administration would be $600,000. The cost would include security measures and electrical upgrades.The firm expects to have "more accurate" prices by Thursday's borough council meeting.Jim Thorpe's public works building, located adjacent to Memorial Hall, "isn't adequate to serve current and future borough vehicles," Summitt said. "The borough would like to do vehicle repairs in house, but can't due to space and have to contract that service out to local garages."Spillman Farmer recommended a 22,500-square-foot building in a more central location in town.Borough council has discussed putting a new public works facility near its water plant."We wanted to look at the options we have," Council President Greg Strubinger said of the feasibility study. "Going forward, we want to use our space in the most efficient manner."