SCRANTON — Lackawanna County reapplied for $250,000 in state funding to extend its North Pocono Trail toward the Elmhurst Reservoir after failing to secure grant funds for the extension last year.
Commissioners Bill Gaughan and Chris Chermak retroactively approved Wednesday an application seeking state Greenways, Trails and Recreation Program funding to support the ongoing trail project.
It comes as work nears completion on the first section of trail stretching roughly 3.5 miles from about the Interstate 84/380 Twin Bridges project site in Dunmore to a trailhead near the Y Knot Pub and Eatery and Route 435 in Elmhurst Twp.
Commissioners approved in March 2024 a roughly $2.2 million contract with Leeward Construction Inc. for that construction phase, using state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources grant funding and federal American Rescue Plan Act money to support the project.
A view of the Lackawanna County-owned North Pocono Trail in Elmhurst Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The grant the county now seeks for the second time would fund the extension of the trail roughly a third of a mile from the Elmhurst Trailhead, the terminus point of the current construction phase, to Route 435 and through a share-the-road section along GC Smith Street to the site of a newly proposed pocket park. From there, the trail would tie into an existing county-owned utility access road leading to the Elmhurst Reservoir, the county’s grant application shows.
“With Phase I construction nearing completion (June 2025), it is crucial to keep this momentum going and to continue construction of this important urban-to-rural trail and alternative transportation initiative,” the application notes.
Lackawanna County Parks and Recreation Director Paul Bechtel discusses a grant the county seeks to extent its North Pocono Trail in Elmhurst Twp. at a commissioners meeting on June 18, 2025. (JEFF HORVATH/STAFF PHOTO)
Officials would use work on a county-owned bridge on GC Smith Street, a separate county project, as an in-kind grant match for the Greenways, Trails and Recreation funding, county Parks and Recreation Director Paul Bechtel said.
The $250,000 the county seeks includes construction of about 2,300 linear feet of trail, signage for the share-the-road section and the installation of the planned pocket park, which would be located just beyond the GC Smith Street bridge-replacement site and offer access to Roaring Brook.
Should they secure the state funding, officials are targeting summer 2026 for the trail project’s Phase II construction.
Plans for future phases of the broader trail project include a pedestrian bridge over Roaring Brook below the Elmhurst Reservoir spillway, allowing the county to tie in through an easement with Pennsylvania American Water and run the trail along Route 590 and the Curtis Reservoir. The goal is to eventually tie the county system into the North Pocono Trail systems in the Moscow area, Bechtel said.
In other business Wednesday, commissioners unanimously adopted a county investment policy providing guidelines for the investment of county funds with a goal of maximizing interest earnings. The policy complements debt-management and updated fund-balance policies commissioners adopted late last year.
Not having current policies in place has been a key criticism leveled by Standard & Poor’s, a cover sheet submitted with the investment policy legislation notes. The rating agency recently lowered the county’s bond rating by one notch in the third downgrade since September 2023, but assessed the county’s outlook as stable, acknowledging considerable steps taken to bring the county budget “closer to structural balance in 2025.”
Generally speaking, credit ratings on municipal borrowing via bonds impact the amount of interest owed on the debt. A higher credit rating reflects financial stability and translates to lower interest rates, while a lower credit rating reflects distress or uncertainty and translates to higher interest rates.
“Policy issues were material to recent credit downgrades,” county Chief Financial Officer David Bulzoni told the commissioners. “The initial downgrade cited inadequate and nonexistent policies, including debt-management, fund-balance and investment policies. This critique has been fully remedied with the recommendation of this adoption of the investment policy. The fund balance policy was updated and the debt-management policy was adopted in 2024.”
Among other features, the investment policy offers an overview of the responsible use of funds and creates objectives for that use, Bulzoni said.
Gaughan described the investment policy as a government best practice and its passage as an important step forward for the county still grappling with financial challenges.
“This policy is a responsible and necessary move that will help guide how we manage and invest public funds, ensuring they are handled with transparency, accountability and in the best interest of taxpayers,” he said. “As Mr. Bulzoni alluded to, having a formal investment policy is not just good financial practice. It’s also a very important signal to the credit rating agencies and outside institutions that Lackawanna County is serious about improving its fiscal health and long-term stability.”