Supervisors adopt comprehensive plan
BROWNSVILLE TWP. – The comprehensive plan for Brownsville Borough and Brownsville Township was officially adopted by the township supervisors Tuesday. Only one person attended the public hearing on the plan held prior to the regular meeting of the supervisors. John Stagesin, who lives in the borough but owns property in the township, voiced concerns that the plan would mean the township and borough would be merged.
“Brownsville Borough will be Brownsville Borough and Brownsville Township will be the township,” Homer Yeardie, chairman of the township supervisors, assured him. “The biggest thing in the plan is sharing services. We do some of that now, but we may do more as time goes on. They give grant money to more to things involving two or more municipalities.”
Yeardie said he is hopeful that the township will be able to get state-funded code enforcement like the borough is receiving for its downtown area. At present, the supervisors handle their own code enforcement, sending out letters to the owners of dilapidated properties.
Stagesin also wanted to know what role the Brownsville Area Revitalization Corporation plays in the comprehensive plan.
“They are a separate entity altogether,” Yeardie said.
Brownsville Borough Council President Jack Lawver attended the meeting and explained further.
“We have four or five organizations in town that are seeking grants. BARC is way ahead of them because they have employees in place,” Lawver said. “The plan recommends drawing from the resources you have.”
Yeardie said the plan is truly comprehensive, covering the history of the area, existing facilities, and other planning aspects.
“It has economic development goals for the area and transportation goals for the area. There’s a section about housing. It has future land use plans for the area,” Yeardie said. “A lot of the information Mackin Engineering got from the Census Bureau.”
Mackin developed the comprehensive plan over the past several years, holding focus group and town meetings throughout the process.
“There’s nothing in here that says we have to do anything on this,” Yeardie said. “It’s up to us now to follow the recommendations and see what we can do.”
Lawver noted nearly every suggested action in the comprehensive plan would have to be adopted by ordinance, leaving it open to additional public comment.
“That’s a three-month process,” Lawver said.
In other matters, the supervisors announced that they have paid the back taxes on a Mill Road house that was donated to the township following foreclosure by a bank. Yeardie said the house would most likely be auctioned within the month, with the stipulation that the buyer repay the township for the back taxes.
Yeardie also announced that the township has switched its insurances from Higbee Insurance to H.A. Thompson, eliminating a $10,000 deductible on most claims.
“We worried that if anything happened, it would bankrupt the township,” Yeardie said of the previous deductibles.
Yeardie said the township has received $2,562.47 from Fayette County through the Liquid Fuels program toward the cost of repairing Century Road and bridge. The township is awaiting word on an additional $5,000 grant. The roadwork is expected to cost between $7,000 and $9,000. Yeardie said it would most likely be done next year.
Yeardie said both the township and the borough are waiting for approval of a state grant to fix Century Bridge. Each municipality applied for half of the funding needed. Yeardie said once the money is received, the wooden decking on the bridge would be replaced with concrete decking. The current bridge piers and beams will be used for the project.