Borough council on a 6-0 vote Thursday agreed to award the first phase of the library renovation contract to Masonry Preservation Services Inc., in the amount of $292,000.

Councilman TJ Gursky was absent.

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

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

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

DeSousa said at that time the bid package that was out covers the masonry work for the exterior, and added the library hopes to start in the spring.

She said then that the project as a whole does not have a completion date due to the nature of the work that needs to be completed.

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

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

In June, 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.

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.

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.