In a move aimed at addressing infrastructure needs, Jim Thorpe Borough Council gave the green light Thursday to a $3 million PENNVEST loan application.

The loan would be earmarked to finance a water main replacement project along Center Avenue.

Councilman Jay Miller, a staunch advocate for the initiative, announced that the loan would be disbursed over a span of 20 years.

The decision to pursue this financial avenue comes on the heels of the borough’s successful payoff of a previous note with Mauch Chunk Trust, which also covered a series of water improvements, according to Miller. That freed $200,000 in the borough’s annual budget.

“A new $3 million note would be about $175,000 in the budget each year,” Miller said.

While the scope of necessary water main replacements extends beyond Center Avenue, including Center Street (from Front to 13th Street), South Street (from the Germantown plant to Front Street), and Front Street (from Center to South Street), Miller acknowledged the fiscal challenges posed by the $8.5 million cost estimation to complete everything.

“I don’t know if council can stomach $8.5 million,” he said. “Out of all the streets, Center Avenue is the most immediate in need.”

Miller assured the community that this project could be undertaken without burdening residents with increased water rates specifically for this work.

“We may have to raise rates for general items like wages, benefits or the cost of making water, but not for this loan,” he said.

For Miller, whose term is set to conclude at the end of the year, this project represents a personal commitment.

“This is one item out of several that will still be here on Dec. 31, but I won’t,” he said. “I’d like to get it rolling.”

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has Center Avenue on its list of upcoming paving projects and borough officials expressed their intention to coordinate the water main project with the planned roadwork.

“Hopefully they can pave it after we’re done with this and we can save some money on the project,” Borough Manager Maureen Sterner said.

In addition to the water main project, the Council also approved the purchase Thursday of a new 2024 GMC gas-engine truck equipped with an enclosed commercial utility body for the water department. With a price tag of $83,289, the truck will be included in the 2024 borough budget, with payments commencing next year. The anticipated delivery of the vehicle is set for late this year.

The acquisition of the vehicle, borough officials said, comes as a timely replacement for a 2012 diesel-engine truck that has served the borough well but has begun to show signs of wear and tear.

“It was a good truck for years but it’s been at the dealership more than we’ve had it this summer,” water supervisor Dwayne Sterner said. “There is some rust on the body underneath the utility chassis part of it.”