Apr 4, 2006 By Steve Ferris 3 min read

CUMBERLAND TWP. – Cumberland Township supervisors approved an application for $129,750 in 2006 Community Development Block Grant money for street resurfacing, storm sewer projects and housing rehabilitation. The supervisors voted unanimously in favor of submitting the application to the state Department of Community and Economic Development after conducting a hearing on the application during Monday’s regular meeting.

Marcia E. Sonneborn, the township’s community development administrator, explained the projects that are included in the application.

Sonneborn said $86,972 would be spent on contracted paving, contracted curb installation and purchasing pipe for storm sewers in Nemacolin.

The roads targeted for contracted paving and curbing are Stagecoach Road, Bliss Avenue, Roosevelt Street, Haig Lane and Fire Hall Hill. The work will include about 200 feet of curbing on Bliss Avenue, she said.

Approximately 240 feet of storm sewers will be installed or upgraded under Bliss Avenue, Fire Hall Hill and Haig Lane, she said.

The grant also includes $25,262 for rehabilitating owner-occupied homes. Applicants’ household income has to be equal to or less than federal Section 8 income limits, she said.

Basic grants of up to $14,000 are available, and additional money is available for lead-based paint abatement, historical compliance and meeting International Building Code requirements.

Twenty-five percent of each grant will be forgiven annually for four years after the rehab is completed.

Sonneborn said the CDBG-funded work would start in the fall.

In related business, the supervisors adopted a community development plan that outlines how CDBG funds will be spent over the next three years.

This year’s grant spending was detailed in the application.

The 2007 and 2008 grants will also be used for street and storm sewer improvement projects and housing rehab, she said.

In another infrastructure issue, some Jackson Lane residents asked the supervisors to extend a water line to their street.

Terri Laird of Jackson Lane presented the panel with a petition signed by seven or eight people who live on the street and want public water service.

“We desperately need this out there,” Laird said. “It’s really the land of nothing out there.”

She said public water, TV cable and natural gas are not available in that area.

Responding to question from Supervisor James M. Sokol, Laird said everyone who signed the petition has agreed to tap into the line if it is installed.

“I don’t want to waste $12,000 (on water lines) if no one taps in,” Sokol said.

Laird said there would be 10 tap-ins because she and some other residents would have separate taps for their homes and farms.

An existing water line that runs under a state road stops at Jackson Lane, Laird said.

William C. Groves, president of the board of supervisors, said the township can apply for a grant for materials needed to install the line and the township’s water authority would install the line.

In other business, the supervisors:

– Accepted a bid from Gutman Oil of Belle Vernon to provide gasoline for township vehicles for $2.17 a gallon and diesel fuel for $2.03 a gallon. Two other companies submitted bids. One charged less for diesel, but did not submit all the required bid documents.

– Accepted a bid from Laurel Aggregate of Gans for four types of stone and ash ranging from $9 to $12.25 per ton, and a bid from Hanson Aggregates of Connellsville for two types of stone costing $17 and $12.50 a ton.

– Approved paying the $1,166 balance on a 2006 Ford Expedition XLT police vehicle. Groves said the vehicle was bought mostly with grant money, but the township has to pay 10 percent of the cost. The payment and installation of a light bar covers the township’s share, he said.