Commissioners approve Carbon County Open Space match for water-authority property after extended debate

The Carbon County Board of Commissioners voted to adopt and execute a resolution authorizing county match funding for an Open Space grant application to preserve roughly 1,187 acres of water authority property in the Pine Run/Upper Lehigh River watershed.

Planning staff and Open Space advisers presented the application and told the board the project qualifies as a focus-area protection for drinking-water resources and that a foundation has pledged $800,000 as local match funding that would be lost if the county did not act. Anna, a planning staff member identified in the meeting, said the funding and the project's timing are unique: "This application came forward because it's in what we consider a focus area ... we had a foundation that…