Lansford Borough Council wants to bring in help from the state to help with how its office and borough police operate.

Council President Bruce Markovich said he’d like to get assistance from the state Department of Community and Economic Development, a move neighboring Coaldale took.

“I think we need some professional eyes on some of the issues that we’re dealing with here, especially the police department,” he said during committee meeting Wednesday night.

“I don’t want to find ourselves two years from now in a hole somewhere and just guessing on how to get out of it,” Markovich said. “I just think we should be financially in better shape than what we are at this point.

“I think we need to get that evaluated and see what the problem is,” he said.

Coaldale officials were pleased with the assistance that they received, Markovich said.

Both residents and other council members agreed on seeking out the help, but questioned the cost.

Markovich said that he would find out what it would cost and put the move on the agenda for council next week.

Last year, Coaldale took advantage of the DCED’s free peer consulting program, in which a trained and experienced manager assisted the borough on a temporary basis.

Coaldale also sought a matching grant to bring in a consultant, who is not a DCED employee, to evaluate the borough’s operations and finances and make recommendations.

Among the issues the neighboring borough sought advice on were computer upgrades, ordinance and code updates and specialists to discuss emergency protection.

The matching grant for Coaldale was a 90/10 split with the borough putting in $6,000 of the $60,000 cost for the consultant.

Main Street

Borough council will learn about another DCED program, Main Street Matters, next month, Markovich said.

Justine Trucksess will talk about the program and how it can help Lansford through its Main Street and Blueprint Communities programs for the downtown, he said.

“They’re both excellent programs,” said Markovich, who serves on the Panther Valley Blueprint team. “It’s probably going take an hour.”

The presentation will be advertised for 5 p.m. on Dec. 3, and council’s committee meeting should begin at its usual time at 6 p.m., he said.

Grant denied

Lansford did not get the nearly $1 million gaming grant it sought for a new borough garage along Dock Street, Markovich said.

He believes the borough needs to contribute toward the cost of the garage to increase its chances of landing state funding.

The state had $345 million in Local Share Account funding to distribute this past round, and $1.3 billion in applications for the funds, Markovich said.

Carbon County received $3.4 million in gaming funds, he said, and the borough was asking for $1 million.

Markovich asked council members to consider putting money toward the garage to increase the borough’s chances of getting a gaming grant.

“The money just isn’t there,” he said.