Councilmen Stephen Burker and Charles Sodl introduced plans for improvements to Saylor Park at Coplay Borough Council’s regular meeting April 12.

“We are asking for a grant to get this project funded,” Burker said. “It is a shared grant, and we will need to supply half of the funding.”

Coplay’s last application for funding was rejected.

“I learned a lot from that process,” Burker said. “We made corrections that we needed, and I am confident that we will get the grant funding. Our state reps said they would support our application.”

Borough Engineer Daniel Witczak produced a rendering of the park and its proposed improvements.

“The rendering is key to getting the grant money that we need. No one knows what these things look like from the written description. The rendering is most important. We are lucky to have someone that can get this done for us,” Burker said.

Witczak estimated the cost for improvements at a half-million dollars. The grant would be $250,000. The borough would need to come up with another $250,000.

“I don’t think we can let this opportunity pass us by,” Sodl said. “We need to find the money we need to make this happen because it is important to improve the quality of life for our residents.”

The borough has several ambitious projects on its list. Other projects include enhancements to the civic plaza near Giant Foods and the recently purchased property at 1 Bridge St., which is the proposed site for public works department offices.

Councilwoman Janet Eisenhauer, who chairs the financial committee, was noncommittal on the requirements.

“We will need to take a look at the budget and go through our commitments,” she said.

Witczak offered his support for the project.

“We can move forward with the borough once we have the grant funding in place. This is an exciting project and makes a big impact on the borough,” he said.