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Lebanon City advances downtown, parks and trail projects; council approves grant application
Summary
Community and Economic Development Administrator Janelle Grama updated the Lebanon City Council on multiple parks, streetscape and trail projects funded by ARPA and grants; council approved Resolution 24 to apply for a Greenways Trail and Recreation Program grant requiring a 15% match.
Janelle Grama, Lebanon City’s Community and Economic Development Administrator, updated the City Council on April 28, 2025, about a slate of completed and planned downtown, parks and trail projects and the council passed Resolution No. 24 to authorize filing a Greenways Trail and Recreation Program grant application with the Commonwealth Financing Authority.
Grama said the projects ‘‘reflect our commitment to investing in our community and creating spaces where people want to live, work, and play.’’ The presentation highlighted downtown streetscape work, new park facilities, trail connections and playground replacements funded mainly through ARPA and competitive grants.
The most developed items include the Cumberland Street streetscape (Fourth to Twelfth streets), which the city celebrated with a ribbon cutting April 1; improvements there include stamped-concrete sidewalks, bump-outs with flashing crosswalk beacons, ADA ramps and new street trees. Grama said the downtown streetscape work included utility adjustments and decorative street-light refurbishment and was intended to improve safety and accessibility for pedestrians.
On parks, Grama described a dog park at the former Louder Memorial Water Complex covering about 1.5 acres. She said the project was awarded to Columbia Excavating for $267,000 and is funded with a DCNR grant and ARPA funds. The dog park will require users to register dogs and provide vaccination information and will use an access-control device at the main entrance rather than a full-time attendant. Grama said the city held a ribbon cutting on April 7 and expects construction to finish this summer.
The presentation also covered planned and under-construction recreation improvements: conversion of two existing tennis courts at Kolman Memorial Park into four pickleball courts (award to Arthur Funk and Sons for $75,466, supported by a $50,000 DCNR grant and $30,000 county ARPA funds); completion of Phase 1 of the Coleman Memorial Park connector trail funded by a Penn State REACH grant; and a splash pad at Southwest Park in final design, funded with ARPA and aimed to be fully ADA accessible.
Grama listed additional funding and partnership sources that will support projects: ARPA, DCNR grants, Penn State REACH grants, a county ARPA allocation, Lebanon Valley Community Tennis Association donations and potential USTA funding. The city also contributed $215,000 in ARPA funding toward improvements at Johnny Wanger Memorial Park; Grama said the ribbon cutting is scheduled for June 6.
Council action followed the presentation. Council member Joe moved and council member Sean seconded Resolution No. 24, described in the meeting as authorizing city officials to file a Greenways Trail and Recreation Program grant application with the Commonwealth Financing Authority for playground improvements at Northeast Park. The mayor described the grant as a Marcellus legacy funding program with a maximum project amount of $250,000 and a required 15 percent local match ($37,500 if the maximum award is received). The city indicated it could use Capital Reserve Fund monies or include the match in the 2026 budget if awarded.
The clerk called the roll for Resolution No. 24: "Ms. Potash? Yes. Mr. McGuire? Yes. Mr. Morales? Yes. Mr. Potash? Yes. Chairman Martin? Yes." The mayor announced the resolution passed (5 in favor).
Grama and council members noted uses of state contracts and approved installers if the grant is awarded; Grama said the city would purchase equipment off the state CoStars contract and use approved installers. Several projects already under contract include the downtown streetscape (Doug Lam Construction, $546,735) and the Kolman/tennis work; Grama said Penn Bid was being used for upcoming bids (bids opening May 9 for one parks project).
No new formal appropriations were finalized at the meeting beyond the resolution authorizing the grant application; council must secure the local match if the Commonwealth award is made.
If awarded, the grant application will proceed under the terms described at the meeting and the city will determine the funding source for the required local match.
