A walk-through at an age-old classic building in Palmerton was attended by local lawmakers who helped secure funding for its rehabilitation.

State Sen. Dave Argall and state Rep. Doyle Heffley visited the Palmerton Area Library Monday morning to tour the progress of the library’s restoration project.

Library director Christine DeSousa led the tour and said the first phase of the restoration project has been put out to bid.

“The bid package currently out covers the masonry work for the exterior,” said DeSousa, who added the library hopes to start in the spring. “The project as a whole does not have a completion date, considering the nature of the work that needs to be done.”

DeSousa noted the library is trying to preserve the historical integrity of the building.

“The grant we have won has made it possible for the library to do restoration that will make our library comfortable and safe for years to come,” she said. “We’ve been working very closely with (Palmerton Borough Manager) Autumn Canfield, who’s been fantastic.”

Heffley said it’s wonderful to see such an old building continue to be utilized, but with that comes a lot of costs in maintaining it.

It really is an anchor building here on Delaware Avenue,” Heffley said. “I think it’s a good investment for the community to maintain the older infrastructure.”

Argall said that with its centralized location in the borough’s downtown, the library plays a significant role in the community.

“It’s in the center of the community, it’s important to the community, the downtown,” Argall said. “It’s important to the kids and schools.”

DeSousa said the library was happy that Sen. Argall and Rep. Heffley came to the library.

“That way, they could see what we are seeing and see the work we need to repair at our building,” she said. “We hope in the future they will also be happy to come to the library to see the restoration that we all worked for.”

Since 2024, the library has received $1,586,000 in state funding for the project.

Last month, Palmerton Borough Council on a 5-0 vote agreed to advertise for bids for the library renovations funded by two Local Share Account grants the library previously received.

In April, the library received $600,000 in grants to assist with water damage repairs and restoration to its building.

The library was awarded the funding through the Keystone Grant for Public Library Facilities program.

The program, which is administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Office of Commonwealth Libraries, supports projects that improve library infrastructure, including upgrades for accessibility, energy efficiency and essential building systems, as well as renovations and expansions of public spaces.

DeSousa said at that time they are only done with part of the planning phase, and added they would be putting bid packages out for the first phase of restoration.

In December, the library received a $468,000 grant to repair masonry and replace windows as part of its ongoing restoration project.

At that time, DeSousa said that the cost of the restoration project was estimated between $1.3 million to $1.4 million.

In May 2025, the library received a $100,000 grant through the Monroe County Contiguous Local Share Account for library renovations.

Those funds will be used to repair the deteriorating facade of the library to prevent water damage.

DeSousa previously said the estimation for getting the masonry work done to the outside of the building remains at just over $600,000 (work that has yet to be done).

She added that the $100,000 grant that was received will likely go toward that part of the larger building restoration project.

DeSousa said that in 2024, the library had over 30,000 users.

Phase 1 of the restoration project, the portion of the west wall, has been completed, and cost about $75,000.

In 2023, Jack Woginrich, treasurer for Palmerton Area Library, told council that the library had been putting a “Band-Aid” on building damage for roughly the last decade, spending about $100,000.

The parapet top stone was slated for removal, and a water diversion system installed that will channel the rainwater from dripping down the parapet wall to the roof membrane and then to the drain.

Also, the stones on the outside of the building would be cleaned and restored, plus the silicone joint compound would be removed and replaced with a sand-based grout that will breathe and release water instead of sealing it in.