Lansford Borough Council learned more about the Blueprint Community program, and how the designation and local team can help revitalize the Panther Valley over the next decade.

Justine Trucksess, of the Pennsylvania Downtown Center, which coordinates the Blueprint program and its special projects, spoke to council and residents late Tuesday afternoon.

Trucksess is also the local team’s mentor, working with its members who come from all four boroughs — Lansford, Nesquehoning, Summit Hill and Coaldale — that make up the Panther Valley.

The team, which is in its infancy and just beginning an 18-month training program this year, will be putting together a vision for the future of the Panther Valley and developing a five-year strategic plan.

Team members are already taking the first steps by finding out what residents need through surveys and engagement, Trucksess said.

“As we move into 2025 we’re going to be setting and building a plan,” she said. “We’re going to be coming up with actionable items that your community and your borough, as well as the Panther Valley as a whole, can start to move forward.”

Community development programs, such as a Main Street or Elm Street designation, might help move that vision forward, Trucksess said, and Lansford has expressed an interest in the state’s Main Street program.

The team’s strategic plan is the foundation for the program and can give the community a successful and sustainable community development program, but it’s not something that happens overnight, she said.

“This work is a marathon,” Trucksess said, and the Panther Valley has just embarked on this 10-year journey.

The program, in addition to helping the team develop a plan for the future, will also be working on lining up funding sources to achieve the vision, she said.

“There are folks in the in the state that are going to want to be a part of those successful projects,” Trucksess said.

Successful projects through the program often drive more investment in the community, she said.

“Once you can get some really good successes underway, it breeds more investment over time,” she said. “People are more willing to invest good money after good projects.”

Lansford Council President Bruce Markovich asked about rehabilitating the borough’s downtown, which was once the hub of the Panther Valley. Should they try to bring back businesses or convert empty storefronts into apartments, he asked.

Trucksess questioned why Lansford wouldn’t want to do both housing and business, as a plan for downtown revitalization doesn’t have to be one or the other.

“Why wouldn’t you pursue both?” she asked. “There is this level of synergy that happens between folks that live in downtown communities and the folks that own business or open business in downtown communities.

“I’m a firm believer that the Main Street approach is about mixed use for properties, both commercial and residential, and those are the strongest communities that I see.”

Revitalization comes when communities work on multiple areas, dividing and conquering what the needs are, she said, rather than focusing on just one area, such as tourism, which might be one part of the overall plan.

Markovich asked about having an anchor store, such as Brights Department Store was in Lansford, or are they better looking at smaller businesses.

Trucksess explained that today people don’t need to leave their homes to shop, and retailers need to create experiences for shoppers — giving them a reason to go to their business, such as wonderful customer service.

Resident Denise Leibensperger pointed out that the community is low income, and wanted to know how the borough can aspire to something bigger and better.

Trucksess explained that they have to look at the needs of their current community and find partners to help meet those needs, which could be access to home repair programs, creating that wealth in the community.

“If folks’ needs aren’t met, they’re not able to think bigger in general,” she said, pointing out when needs are met people can think and dream bigger.

“It’s incremental changes,” Trucksess said. “It’s incremental baby steps that create this ripple effect in the community that change the perception. It all starts with a foundation of a really strong plan rooted in market-driven data.”

Even in its first few months, the PV Blueprint team has already worked toward meeting community needs — supporting the food pantry based in the area’s elementary school.

“Participating in this program itself is something that’s going to set you up for great success in the future,” Trucksess said.

Abbie Guardiani, who is serving as spokeswoman for the Panther Valley Blueprint Community Team, said that all four communities have been given an opportunity to succeed.

None of the communities would have been eligible for the designation alone — they’re all too small, she said.

“The only way forward, folks, is together,” Guardiani said. “We cannot fail our communities anymore. The only way forward is together, and Blueprint is perfect for that.”