Palmerton has received $1 million to construct a state-of-the-art police station.

“I’m pleased to see this funding has been awarded to Carbon County, as it will benefit many,” said state Rep. Doyle Heffley, R-122, who worked with State Sen. David Argall to secure two grants totaling $2.5 million.

“This funding will improve public safety by providing the Palmerton Police Department with a state-of-the-art facility.

The other $1.5 is going to a Little Leaf Lettuce facility.

“By funding these projects, we’ll see new, family-sustaining jobs and make Carbon County safer,” Argall said.

Funding was awarded through the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, which awards grants to economic development projects that have a regional impact.

Keystone Consulting Engineers has recommended new construction over repairing the station, located in a former New Jersey Zinc building at the corner of Delaware Avenue and Fourth Street.

The new station will allow the Palmerton Borough Police Department to respond to emergencies faster and perform their important work in a safer and more efficient manner.

Borough Manager Autumn Canfield said the borough is fortunate to have received the funding.

“We were very happy with the announcement,” Canfield said. “We had applied for numerous grants, and this was the first we received.”

In May, it was announced that an agreement to donate land at the site of the former Palmerton Hospital to the borough was in the final stages of completion.

At that time, John Nespoli, president of St. Luke’s Carbon, said during a Palmerton Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon that he had been approached about the property.

Nespoli said at that time St. Luke’s has committed to donating the land to the community, and were in the final stages of putting an agreement together that would donate the land from the former Palmerton Hospital.

Canfield acknowledged that the borough has been working with St. Luke’s, and noted they were one of the property owners the borough has been working with, but that they didn’t yet have an agreement in hand.

On Wednesday, Canfield said that was still the case.

“We still don’t have an agreement in place,” she said. “But it’s under review.”

Councilman Kris Hoffner said the borough previously applied for a Statewide Local Share Assessment Grant.

In October 2023, council approved a resolution to apply for a $1 million Statewide Grant from the Commonwealth Financing Authority for the construction of a new police facility.

Canfield previously said council was looking at two tracts of land, but did not disclose specifics. Canfield said the borough looked at more than a dozen sites, but narrowed it down to two.

Hoffner has suggested looking into the far east-end of the Northface Development in Palmerton, the site of the former New Jersey Zinc West Plant, which he said is not a residential area.

Councilwoman Holly Hausman-Sell said council needed to determine if it wants to go with a new building, a new site, or if it was looking to do those simultaneously.

She added that the consensus was to go for a new building rather than renovations to its existing station.

At that time, council said the cost for a potential 5,000-square-foot building would be about $1 million.

The borough has been looking at the possibility of reclaiming space rented by Carbon County’s Area Agency on Aging for use of its police department.

Police moved into the former lab building in 2000.