Greene County officials to vote on potential $5.2 million bond issue
WAYNESBURG – The Greene County Commissioners played host to more than a dozen area municipal officials Thursday, as district planners discussed the possibility of funding through the county for infrastructure projects across Greene. The commissioners will vote today regarding the potential $5.2 million bond issue to help plant seed money for water and sewage projects across the county.
“We have been looking to do something with this for a long time,” Commission Chairwoman Pam Snyder said Thursday. “We are going to instate an intergovernmental committee to help review the applications we receive.”
Snyder said that in addition to county representatives, the committee would be comprised of USDA Rural Development officials and members of the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST) to help determine project feasibility and possible funding streams.
“What we want is to be able to give our communities leverage to gain state and federal funds,” Snyder said. “We are very excited about this and we hope it makes an impact on the county.”
“There is an awful lot of state and federal funding that is available but we have a tough time getting at,” Commissioner Dave Coder said. “We hope this will help.”
At the close of the meeting, officials from Monongalia, Dunkard, Perry and Cumberland townships as well as representatives from Greensboro Borough lobbied the commissioners for funding for their individual projects.
Snyder said that while the county does currently have some debt, the commissioners are going to discuss a wraparound issue to help pay off the existing balances and noted that preliminary estimates regarding the bond do not include a tax increase to pay for the issue.
Snyder said specific areas that would be affected by the new money are Cabbage Flats in the Southeastern Greene area, portions of Route 88 in Carmichaels, Lower Ten Mile in Jefferson and Waynesburg Borough, which has had problems with flood waters and their sewerage system.
“We want to touch every school district with this money in some capacity,” Snyder said.
She also noted that some of the bond issue would be used to help pay the county match needed for projects like the new county swimming pool and the bike trail, but added that the funds used for county projects should be reimbursed eventually through state and federal grants.
“Sometimes you have to wait a year or two to get that money,” Snyder said. “This way, we can get those projects done while we wait for the state and federal grants to come in.”
The pool project is scheduled to begin construction following the summer months and is estimated to cost about $2.5 million, of which the county has secured about $2 million in state and federal money toward.
Last month, the county reached an agreement with the state regarding reimbursement of funds for the long-awaited Greene Trail, which has been a major part of the county’s recreation push for the last few years.
Work began on the trail in 1999 in Cumberland and Jefferson townships. A groundbreaking is slated for Monday afternoon along the trail at the old Crucible mine site with Rep. John Murtha (D-Johnstown) scheduled to attend.