Tamaqua Borough Council approved the application for $146,289 in Community Development Block Grant funds following a brief public hearing prior to last night's council meeting.

The final application includes $26,332, or 18 percent of the funding, to be used towards administrative costs. This is a standard percentage of the grant, and according to council president Micah Gursky, is spread across several positions.Another $17,555 will be used for the demolition of blighted properties within the borough. The Tamaqua Community Ambulance will benefit from approximately $21,900 as the borough plans to purchase a cardiac monitor with a battery charger and additional supplies for use by the association. Gursky said that the borough will own the equipment and it will be used by the ambulance association under the terms of the funding.The bulk of the funds, $73,181, will be used for street reconstruction, including Hazle Street from Greenwood to Patterson and Owl Creek Road from box 357 to box 385.The remaining $7,321 will be put towards the playground project on Dutch Hill. Currently, the plan is to install the facility in the vicinity of the baseball complex.Mayor Christian Morrison said that the current plan is to have the playground overlook the fields. "That way parents will be able to watch their smaller children play while still seeing the older children playing ball," he said. Money for the project has also been set aside from the 2009 CDBG funds and Morrison said that the Eastern Schuylkill Recreation Commission is also looking into getting matching funds for the project.