Carbon County Weekly Brief

Carbon County Weekly Brief

Tracking taxes, policy, and power.

Week of February 9, 2026

• Kidder Township officials recently held a public hearing on a draft ordinance that would establish rules for data centers and related uses, allowing them as a conditional use in Business District/Light Industrial zones and setting standards on things like minimum site size, landscape buffers, sound studies, water supply documentation, and power availability. The proposed definition of a data center includes facilities for cryptocurrency mining, blockchain processing and server farms, and the draft requires things like at least 20 acre sites and at least 25-foot landscaping buffers. Residents at the hearing generally thanked the board for the work and offered suggestions — such as larger setbacks, stronger environmental reviews and closed-loop cooling systems — while others emphasized controlling potential impacts rather than prohibiting the facilities outright. The board may vote on the ordinance at an upcoming February meeting. 

• Lansford Borough Council voted to adopt a revised $2.08 million budget on February 11, keeping the tax rate unchanged from the previous year while allocating additional funding for a full-time police officer. The updated spending plan was reopened in January by the reorganized council and passed 4-2, with two members opposing it. At the same meeting, council addressed a vacancy left by the resignation of its president by hearing from several applicants and ultimately appointing John Zym to fill the seat after a tied vote was broken by the mayor.

• Lehighton Borough Council recently took several actions during its meeting, including approving a $2 monthly increase in sewer fees for 2026—raising residential rates from $43 to $45, commercial from $54 to $56, and churches from $25 to $27. The council also hired a utility billing clerk (5–1 vote) and a part-time crossing guard, reappointed Strubinger Law Offices as solicitor for the zoning hearing board, and approved event-related requests such as no-parking signs for a church event and use of borough property for a Parks & Recreation Board event. Additionally, the council approved the 2025 exoneration and delinquent tax collection lists.

• Officials in Nesquehoning have announced that the borough has been awarded a $75,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to begin improvements at New Columbus Park. The funding will support Phase 1 of the park’s renovation, which includes installing paved, accessible pathways, resizing and resurfacing the basketball court to regulation dimensions, and upgrading the park surface to improve safety and usability. Future plans for the park may include additional recreational features such as a pickleball area. Borough council has authorized planning work to begin, and architectural drawings will be made available for public review. 

• Nesquehoning community leaders are organizing a full-day celebration for June 13, 2026, to mark both America’s 250th birthday and the borough’s 202nd anniversary. The event, planned by the Nesquehoning Historical Society and Recreation Commission, will take place from the Narrow Valley Sportsplex along West Railroad Street and feature a parade, a festival, activities for children, and potentially a fireworks show. Organizers are also developing a special logo reflecting Nesquehoning’s heritage to be part of the festivities, and previous discussions have included possibly bringing trains into the Nesquehoning Regional Railroad Station as part of the celebration.