Differing opinions remain on the state of affairs at the Asa Packer Mansion in Jim Thorpe as the town’s borough council looks to schedule a meeting with the Jim Thorpe Lions Club to update a caretaker’s agreement.

“The agreement signed in 2000 gives the Lions Club authority to take 15% incentive from mansion revenues to use at its discretion for other community projects,” Council President Greg Strubinger said. “Members of the Packer family are questioning why that is allowed when the mansion needs continued work and improvement. I don’t think it’s in the best interest of the Lions to continue to do that. I would be in favor of some type of new format.”

In December, the borough gave the Lions Club a two-year extension on mansion caretaking and administrative duties.

“Financially, this is the best year ever reported, with over 15,000 guests visiting the mansion,” Asa Packer Mansion chairman Jay McElmoyle told council at the time.

This came after a dispute in May over management of the mansion that led many longtime tour guides to resign, saying they felt disrespected and concerned for their job.

The three-story, 18-room, 11,000-square-foot Italianate Villa style mansion was built in 1861 and home to Packer, a prominent philanthropist, politician, and founder of the Lehigh Valley Railroad and Lehigh University. His daughter, Mary Packer Cummings, willed the home to the borough in 1912. In 1954, the borough struck an agreement with the organization now known as the Jim Thorpe Lions Club, who became caretakers of the property and opened it to the public for tours.

Strubinger said he would like to see a new nonprofit group formed, made up of several borough council members, at-large members and a mansion director, to oversee the historic home.

“I would like to see a mansion director put in place,” Strubinger said. “We have a one of a kind museum and there are not many period buildings like this that have the furnishings and original contents in them. It’s rare and I think we need someone running the operation not just mowing the lawn and looking at the trees and shrubbery. I think we should have someone knowledgeable about historic facilities.”

Councilman Mike Yeastedt said the majority of council thought the Lions Club is doing a great job of overseeing mansion operations.

“They had a record year,” he said to Strubinger during a workshop last week. “To continue to express your opinions isn’t right. All of the individuals who left were offered to come back and chose not to. Also, in the agreement it spells out that it was the council that mandated the Lions Club use the 15% incentive for donations to nonprofits within the borough of Jim Thorpe.”

Strubinger said the borough received correspondence from the Linderman family, who are descendants of Lucy Packer Linderman, the daughter of Asa Packer, expressing concerns over the mansion management.

“The majority of the council may be happy with the way things are going, but the family is not and I’m sure we’ll hear from them in the future,” he said.

In December, McElmoyle highlighted the seamless collaboration among tour guides, having promoted one of them to manager in late August.

“It would be ideal for us to have a professional curator, but we would need funding to make that happen,” he said.

McElmoyle also outlined plans for the upcoming years, including the possibility of establishing a custom gift shop to increase revenue. He also emphasized the Lions Club’s commitment to keeping admission prices affordable to make the mansion accessible to all.

“Too often, tourism attractions become unaffordable for the everyday person,” he said. “We hold the mindset that everyone should experience the mansion, especially locals.”