May 8, 2002 By Paul Sunyak 4 min read

Development of the Fayette County Business Park could be expedited if the Fayette County Redevelopment Authority succeeds in winning a $400,000 Rural Housing and Economic Development grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Fayette is one of only two counties in Pennsylvania – Greene County being the other – that is eligible to apply for that HUD program funding stream, redevelopment authority Executive Director Raymond C. Polaski said at Tuesday’s monthly meeting.

Polaski said that although the grant would require a local match, the county can meet that requirement through money set aside in its bond issue for business park development. The grant would “more than likely” be used to speed water and sewer line development in the park, Polaski added.

He told his five-person board of directors that he received telephone calls earlier Tuesday from the offices of U.S. Sens. Rick Santorum and Arlen Specter regarding the grant application. The county commissioners and the South Union Township supervisors view the New Salem Road-Route 40 property being developed by Polaski’s authority as the hottest property in the county, in terms of growth potential.

In another geographic area, Polaski said the authority hopes to hear soon on the status of its $125,000 grant application to the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to finance further improvements on the Brownsville Wharf Project.

That money, which would also require a local match, would be used to develop a parking lot nearby, to stucco the wall, to provide better signage and to add a floating wharf that could handle all sizes of water craft, said Polaski.

In a related report, board Chairman Kenneth Finney and board member Paul Bortz Jr. had high praise for the wharf dedication ceremony they recently attended. Finney said it was a good day, both progress and weather wise, and Bortz noted that the existing permanent wharf can accommodate both types of boats used by the Pittsburgh-based Gateway Clipper fleet.

Board member Charles Cieszynski inquired about the current parking situation at the wharf, which Polaski termed “not real good.” However, the executive director said plans are in the works to refurbish a parking lot 11/2 blocks away, and he noted that the $125,000 DCNR grant would go a long way toward turning that plan into reality.

Regarding a third funding stream, the board voted to approve the filing of a pre-application for a $121,671 housing preservation grant from the Rural Housing Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Polaski said that money, if awarded, would be combined with other available funds to enable the authority to help a projected 16 families, with a maximum award of $6,500 per family. Because the Agriculture Department funding is available only to municipalities of fewer than 5,000 people, only 30 of Fayette’s 42 municipalities are eligible.

The authority board also conducted the following business:

n Approved the sale of a property at 210 Snyder St. in Connellsville to Threshold Housing Development Inc. for $2,753.62. Polaski said this is “precisely” what the authority has invested in the site, including the cost of its purchase at tax sale.

n Awarded a $112,136 contract to Ritenour & Sons Construction Co. Inc. of Connellsville for a road reconstruction project on Water Street, Point Marion. Polaski noted that the borough has to make up a $8,200 shortfall in the total project funding.

n Agreed to hire a community development specialist at an approximate annual salary of $25,000. Polaski said the position was budgeted for this year and that the person hired would be “worth more than their weight” in generating additional grant opportunities.

n Agreed to hire an additional installer for the weatherization program, at an annual salary of $17,544. Polaski said his “rule of thumb” for expanding the staff is that a sufficient workload exists and that a funding stream is available. He said that weatherization director Al Jeffries has assured him both conditions can be met.

Jeffries said his current complement includes three installers, one warehouse foreman and a clerk. He said he will interview and test applicants referred to the authority by CareerLink.