City council approves KOZ designation for former school building
Uniontown City Council on Thursday unanimously approved placing the old Central School building on East Church Street in a tax-free Keystone Opportunity Zone. Approval came at a special meeting that was scheduled after the council could not act on the proposal at a special meeting last Friday due to a lack of a quorum.
Councilman Gary Crozier apologized to Uniontown Area School District administrators who attended Thursday’s meeting for the lack of a quorum last week. He said some council members were sick and others were out of town.
“This is a step forward for all of us,’ Crozier said about the Central School building.
Uniontown Area School Board member Tammy Boyle extended thanks to council from the school district.
District Superintendent Charles Machesky also attended the meeting.
The school board approved KOZ status for the building last week after it passed KOZs for three other sites that council approved May 12: the Cornish building at 11 W. Main St., Marshall Park and a vacant lot next to the Uniontown Public Library.
The Fayette County commissioners already have approved all four sites.
Approval from all three government bodies is required, because local real estate and income taxes are waived through 2013 under the state’s current KOZ program. Most state taxes also are abated for the 10 years
Applications for the KOZs will be sent to the Department of Community and Economic Development for final consideration.
The DCEC already is considering a KOZ application for the Fayette Building in downtown. City council approved KOZ status for the building by a 3-2 vote earlier in the month.
If approved by the DCED, all five sites would use a small portion of 110 acres in the Fayette County Business Park on Route 40 that were removed from the KOZ program.