Carbon County officials are preparing to complete a multi-parking lot paving project this spring and summer.

On Thursday, the county commissioners agreed to advertise an invitation to bid through Penn­Bid for the Carbon County 2022 multi-location paving project. Lots to be repaved include the gravel portion of the county lot by the railroad; the correctional facility entrance road and parking lot; various beach parking lots at Mauch Chunk Lake Park and the Boat Launch A driveway at Mauch Chunk Lake.

The money that will be used for the estimated $1 million project will come from the county parking lot fund, which hit $1 million in parking fees at the end of December.

Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein said that the estimates came in higher than anticipated so the project is scaled down from the original plans.

He added that with the county lot overflow parking getting paved will help organize the lot a little better.

When asked if this was done to promote tourism, Commissioner Chris Lukasevich said “tourism is a great thing, but it is also a double-edged sword when it comes at a cost to infrastructure.”

For example, there were 2,900 campers at Mauch Chunk Lake Park in 2021, he said. Of that total, only 465 of those campers were actual county residents.

“There is a notable wear and tear that occurs (because of the visitors), and we have to keep up with it,” Lukasevich said.

The county will now put out the bid specifications for the projects, which will take place later this year.