Smithfield selects appointees to authority
SMITHFIELD – With a new sewage treatment plant nearing completion, the borough council Tuesday named their appointees to a new joint authority that will be created with neighboring Georges Township to oversee the sewer system. Council President Jack Frith said he was urged by Fayette Engineering, the firm overseeing the construction of the new multimillion-dollar system, to get the appointees in place as soon as possible, as the plant is nearing completion and has been in operation almost 30 days.
Under the conditions agreed to in court between the borough and the township, once a significant portion of the system is in place and operating, the Georges Creek Municipal Sewage Authority had to be disbanded and a new joint authority created. The new authority will have the same number of board members, nine, but the members will be appointed by the borough and the township according to customer base. Right now, the borough has the majority of customers and retains six members, and the township is allotted three.
The council voted to retain six current members to serve on the new board once the state accepts the articles of incorporation submitted by the current authority. The appointees were listed as Minah Porter and Lawrence Holt, each for one-year terms; Jean Kennedy and Chuck Cieszynski for two-year terms; and Ron Bruzda and Frith for three-year terms. Last month, the township named their three members.
Borough solicitor Gene Grimm said the borough no longer has veto power over the township’s choices. Under the past terms, the borough could elect not to place members suggested by the township.
Regarding the sewerage project, borough engineer John Over said that he would have to meet with Fayette Engineering to discuss settling on the borough streets. After the lines were placed, a number of borough roads were patched. In some places, such as Washington Way, the patches have sunk as much as 1 1/2 inches, said Over.
Considering the condition of a number of borough streets, the council also agreed to have the annual paving project put out for bid, at Over’s discretion. The borough has only about $50,000 to spend on the roads, said Frith. Over added that a portion of that amount has to go to paving a part of the parking area at the municipal building because the borough received a county grant for that purpose.
Over went through the list of roads needing the most attention and suggested that the borough, this year, focus on the parking lot, Center Street, Stewart Street, a part of Prospect Street and possibly Mountain View. When questioned on whether to do work on Black Hill Road, Over said work on that road would take the entire $50,000 and more. As a whole, he said the roads he listed as priorities are in the worst overall condition of all the borough streets.
The council also conducted the following business:
– Agreed to apply to the state Department of Conservation of Natural Resources for a $20,000 grant for the Smithfield Youth League to improve Smithfield Park.
– Set 6 p.m. Nov. 14 as a work session to go over figures for the 2003 budget.
– Voted to send a selection of dates for an initial meeting to Richard Sutter and Associates, regarding the borough’s comprehensive plan.
– Announced that the borough is taking a wait-and-see attitude on the garbage surcharge issue.
Frith noted that since state legislation permits haulers to pass the cost of increased landfill tipping fees on to customers, the garbage-rate increase borough residents have seen will remain in effect until a joint lawsuit filed by South Union and North Union townships and the city of Uniontown is resolved in court. At that time, he said, if the charge is lifted, rates would be adjusted.
– Donated $300 to Smithfield Elementary for use in an educational incentive program. Councilman Wendi Dice voted against the contribution, noting that the cost of the program in the past was covered by the PTO and that more children than just those from the borough attend the school.