Lehighton is scheduled to receive $350,000 to spruce its upper park.

State Sen. John Yudichak, D-Luzerne/Carbon, and state Rep. Doyle Heffley, R-Carbon, announced that the borough will receive the funding from the Commonwealth Financing Authority for improvements to the park.

Under the Act 13 Grant Program, the borough will receive $150,000 for improvements to the Upper Park Amphitheater, as well as $200,000 from the Multimodal Transportation Funds for streetscape and pedestrian improvements to the streets around Upper Park.

“The funds secured will provide much needed improvements to Upper Park, including adding ADA-accessible seating and correcting stormwater drainage issues at the amphitheater,” said Yudichak. “By investing in the enhancement of this community asset, we are preserving and expanding opportunities for families to enjoy countless hours of entertainment in a beautiful setting.”

“These projects have been in the works for years, and I am so pleased to see the improvements to Lehighton’s Upper Park and amphitheater come to fruition,” said Heffley. “This facility in downtown Lehighton has provided a fantastic venue for community entertainment and events. The funding for these park enhancements comes from the impact fee on natural gas development as well as the multimodal fund.”

Borough Manager Nicole Beckett said that borough officials are thankful for the support of Yudichak, Heffley, the Department of Community and Economic Development and the Commonwealth Financing Authority for funding the Upper Park improvements.

“Numerous grant applications have been submitted since 2013, so we are very much looking forward to moving ahead with the project,” Beckett said. “We will work hard to assure the Upper Park is designed and constructed as well as the Lower Park, which was funded by the same grant programs.”

Beckett noted that various community events are hosted throughout the year in the downtown parks.

“We look forward to improving the infrastructure and providing a better experience for the community as a whole,” she said.

In June 2016, the borough held a rededication ceremony of the Col. Jacob Weiss Park.

That project also involved the installation of new sidewalks, new walkways, crosswalks, landscaping, fountain updates, a relocation of the memorial pavers and the cleaning and restoring of the Col. Weiss statue.

The lower park’s $600,000 transformation was funded by the borough and the Commonwealth Financing Authority, while the improvements were designed by Barry Isett and Associates in 2009.