Weissport Borough Council listened to plans recently to apply for grants to make some upgrades to the borough park.

Jennifer Ketchledge, secretary for the Weissport Events Committee, is in the process of applying for a total of $15,700 in grants from the Pocono Mountain Visitors Bureau, possibly from the hotel tax grant, to make some upgrades to the electrical work, landscaping, and new trash cans for the park.

“Our idea is to help the borough get the money to make our park look more appealing so that people will come,” Ketchledge explained. “We might be able to bring in a lot of people into the town, and that would make money for us, and also for taxpayers, too.”

The grant is a 50% matching grant. Half comes through the grant; the other half would come from the Weissport Borough; although, it can be in the form of in-kind services as opposed to the borough paying money towards it. The in-kind services would be the value of the borough workers working enough hours to cover the value of the borough’s part of the grant.

The focus of the grant is “beautifying outdoor areas surrounding local hospitality and tourism businesses throughout our cities, boroughs, and townships, improving existing gateways and signage, and improve beautification and facades throughout the cities, boroughs, and townships.”

The Pocono Mountain Visitors’ Bureau will also help in advertising Weissport’s events through their network of media connections. The bureau is interested in helping Weissport due to its history.