Officials celebrate the completion of the borough’s streetscape project with a symbolic ribbon-cutting at Saturday’s Town Square Park dedication ceremony. Pictured, from left, are PennDOT District 5 Executive Christopher Kufro, state Rep. Milou Mackenzie (R-131), a representative for U.S. Rep. Susan Wild (D-7), Coopersburg Comprehensive Plan Implementation Committee volunteer Ken Mohr, Jennie Maehrer representing state Sen. Jarrett Coleman’s (R-16) office, Lehigh Valley Planning Commission Executive Director Becky Bradley, Coopersburg Borough Manager Tim Paashaus and Coopersburg Borough Council President Dick Poot.
Saturday was a special day in Coopersburg, where elected officials, civic leaders and supporters gathered to celebrate the completion or near-completion of major infrastructure projects that have both beautified the community and made it more accessible to pedestrians. In addition to the dedication of a new Town Center Park and Public Square at E. State and S. Main streets, event highlights included a ceremonial ribbon-cutting for nine completed phases of streetscape improvements and the unveiling of a statue that bridges Coopersburg’s past and present with its future.
The $9.5 million project is now approximately 90 percent complete, thanks largely to $6.2 million in grant funding provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and the Pennsylvania Historic & Museum Commission (PHMC). The borough of Coopersburg has contributed about $3.2 million toward the total cost, and approximately $95,000 has been contributed by other sources.
Officials including Mayor Gary Hovis stressed that the work has been completed without any tax increases or accumulation of additional debt by the borough.
Hovis acknowledged that the work has been an inconvience at times, and thanked borough residents for their patience over the past eight years, as roads in town have regularly been dug up and traffic disrupted for the installation of new crosswalks, street lighting and sidewalks, among other things.
Above, streetscape improvements including new crosswalks and street lighting are visible in the first block of S. Main Street in downtown Coopersburg.
Ken Mohr, a borough resident who volunteered his time to complete many of the grant applications, was also thanked for his contribution to putting the funding pieces of the puzzle in place.
Mohr, who emceed the event, noted that the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation provided the bulk of the funding for the streetscape improvements, which have all been on state roads.
Executive Director of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission Becky Bradley said Coopersburg has set the standard for other Lehigh Valley boroughs that want to improve their downtowns.
“They just never gave up,” she said of the officials who tirelessly advocated for funding the project, including borough manager Tim Paashaus. “We were cheering them along,” she added.
State Rep. Milou Mackenzie (R-131) and representatives for state Sen. Jarrett Coleman (R-16) and U.S. Rep. Susan Wild (D-7) were in attendance and delivered congratulatory remarks, along with Coopersburg Borough Council President Dick Poot.
“It’s my pleasure in Harrisburg to advocate for my communities,” said Mackenzie, whose district includes the borough and other parts of southern Lehigh, Montgomery and Northampton counties.
Calling it a “slice of Americana,” Mackenzie said no other community is more deserving of the support than Coopersburg.
At the conclusion of the event’s formal program was the announcement that the new Cow Statue in the Town Center Park has been named Tillie, at the suggestion of several residents who participated in a Name the Cow contest over the summer. Appropriately, each winner received a $100 gift certificate from The Inside Scoop, an ice cream shop located on Rt. 309 in Coopersburg.
A plaque unveiled in front of Tillie explains that she is named in honor of Matilda “Tillie” Cooper (1854-1918), the wife and business partner of Tilghman Schantz “T.S.” Cooper (1848-1928), whose Decoration Day Jersey cattle sales made Coopersburg world famous in the early 1900s.
The Coopers would travel to the island of Jersey annually to select the cows they imported, and the sales were held from 1900 to 1931 on the grounds of the Cooper Estate at the south end of town, where the Linden Grove Auction Pavilion and Cooper Mansion both recall the cattle sale era.
Funds for the statue was donated by the late Richard H. Woodring Jr. (1940-2018), a lifelong Coopersburg resident and local realtor whose family members were present for Saturday’s ceremony.
Also dedicated was a plaque honoring the contributions of the former Coopersburg EMS and its members to the community, which included a donation toward the recently-completed projects.
Other funding partners include Upper Saucon Township, QNB, the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce Main Street program and the Appalachian Mountain Club.
State Rep. Milou Mackenzie (R-131), who represents the borough in the state House of Representatives, presents a certificate of recognition to volunteer Ken Mohr, left, and Coopersburg Mayor Gary Hovis.
Tillie stares serenely across the newly-dedicated Town Square in downtown Coopersburg. Named in honor of Matilda “Tillie” Cooper, a partner in the Cooper family’s annual cattle auction that was held from 1900 to 1931, the cow statue has attracted a lot of attention from passersby since it was installed at State and Main streets with money donated by the late Richard H. Woodring Jr.
Lehigh Valley Planning Commission Executive Director Becky Bradley said the Coopersburg model for funding downtown improvements could serve as an inspiration to a dozen other small boroughs in the Lehigh Valley.
Richard Woodring and Katherine Whetsell, whose father Richard H. Woodring Jr. (1940-2018) donated the funds for the borough’s new Cow Statue, speak at the ceremony. Whetsell noted that her father’s 83rd birthday would have been Sunday, Oct. 22. Woodring was a lifelong resident of the area and a prominent local realtor for nearly five decades.
Attendees seated in the Town Square’s new amphitheater listen to speakers at the dedication ceremony Saturday.
Local bicycle enthusiast Bob Swaim brought some of his collection of unique bikes to the event. Above, Coopersburg Mayor Gary Hovis, state Rep. Milou Mackenzie and other officials ride a seven-seater along E. State Street.
Coopersburg police officers, borough manager Tim Paashaus and residents listen to remarks during the dedication ceremony Saturday.
Coopersburg Borough Council President Dick Poot presented an overview of the project, which has included multiple phases completed over the past eight years.
PennDOT District 5 Executive Christopher Kufro highlighted his agency’s contributions to the Coopersburg streetscape project.
Coopersburg Comprehensive Plan Implementation Committee volunteer Ken Mohr delivers welcome remarks. Mohr also served as an emcee for the event.
Officials prepare to cut the ribbon on the streetscape project. Pictured, from left, are PennDOT District 5 Executive Christopher Kufro, state Rep. Milou Mackenzie (R-131), a representative for U.S. Rep. Susan Wild (D-7), Coopersburg Comprehensive Plan Implementation Committee volunteer Ken Mohr, Jennie Maehrer representing state Sen. Jarrett Coleman’s (R-16) office, Lehigh Valley Planning Commission Executive Director Becky Bradley, Coopersburg Borough Manager Tim Paashaus and Coopersburg Borough Council President Dick Poot.
Volunteer Ken Mohr and Mayor Gary Hovis celebrate the cutting of the ribbon on the borough’s streetscape improvement project.
Officials ready the ribbon that is about to be cut by Coopersburg Mayor Gary Hovis.
Attendees seated in the amphitheater listen to speakers at Saturday’s Town Center Park dedication and streetscape ribbon-cutting ceremony in Coopersburg.
Two plaques were unveiled in front of Coopersburg’s newly-christened Cow Statue, which is named Tillie in honor of Matilda “Tillie” Cooper.
