Lansford Borough faces the same challenges as many other legacy communities in the region, but also has positives that can be built upon, a consultant told borough council Wednesday.

Savas Logothetides, vice president of FSL Public Finance, a municipal advisory arm of Stevens & Lee law firm in Reading, spoke about the services the firm could provide.

The firm helps communities dealing with aging housing stock, blight and economic transition with redevelopment, planning, housing strategy, grant implementation and revitalization.

“I’m originally from the city of Pottsville, where we face, as an old coal town, many of the same challenges that you do here,” Logothetides said. “I’ve worked extensively in the Coal Region and in rural communities.”

Despite the challenges, Lansford also has opportunities in being a Blueprint Community as well as being awarded a $71,595 grant for the Strategic Management Planning Program through the state Department of Community and Economic Development, he said.

“The STMP program, as its better known as, is a very, very good program,” Logothetides said, noting that the grants used be used as a stopgap before communities entered financially distressed status at the state level.

“This program is very helpful for you,” he said. “It’ll help with the borough’s historic downtown character. Given your proximity to tourism, recreation assets, it’s going to create a strong foundation for that you can build upon.”

On Wednesday, council approved an agreement with Kafferlin Strategies LLC for the STMP program at a cost not to exceed $79,550. The borough’s share under the matching grant will be 10% or $7,955, according to the DCED.

Lansford asked for a review of the borough’s operations, including a financial condition assessment, a management audit of all departments, a review of investments, employee work agreements, union contracts, health care costs and borough ordinances through the program.

The borough plans to hold a special meeting May 28 to allow the public to learn more about the program, which will provide the borough with a five-year strategic plan, Council President Joe Genits said.

Logothetides said his firm can work with the STMP program, which provides up to $200,000 a year for projects, such as technology or hiring a code officer.

He doesn’t see one large redevelopment project for the borough but instead hopes to create a coordinated implementation strategy for Lansford.

“We really try to maximize the amount of money that you leverage through grants, through tax financing, tax credit financing, line item budgets,” he said. “So you can get the most of your tax dollars.”

Councilman Bruce Markovich asked how much does the firm’s services for grant writing cost, and Logothetides said that every grant is different and some are very complex and others only require “a pretty narrative.”

Logothetides said the success rate for grants is about 30%, and his firm’s success rate is much higher than that.

He provided packets to council members to review regarding the services.