Parking garage expansion approved
Uniontown City Council approved a $579,000 construction project that will expand the parking garage currently under construction on Penn Street by 50 spaces. During a special meeting Wednesday, council unanimously approved the 1,200 square feet, half-level parking garage expansion, bringing the total number of parking spaces once the garage is completed to 270.
Construction of the parking garage began in October 2005.
Councilman Bob Cerjanec previously said the expansion would push the completion date of the project back to the end of September. Work on the initial $3.41-million, 220-space, 31/2-level parking garage was on schedule to be completed by the end of July, Cerjanec said.
The entire project is being financed by two state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) grants.
The first $3.15 million grant was allocated in spring 2004. The city borrowed $2 million from a bank for part of the required dollar-for-dollar grant.
Approximately $1 million from the loan and two in-kind contributions compromise the match. The in-kind contributions are $1.2 million that Joseph A. Hardy III spent on materials for the Main Street landscape and $900,000 of the money Fayette County spent on renovating the Federal Building.
The $1 million remaining from the loan was used as financing for construction.
To pay for the expansion, council obtained state approval to restructure a $1.5 million RACP grant the city received in April 2005.
Originally, $1 million of the grant money was going to be used to renovate the former YMCA building and the remaining $500,000 was to be forwarded to Community Action of Fayette County for a building construction project.
However, the state-approved reallocation sent $900,000 to Community Action and $600,000 to be used for the parking garage expansion project.
Since the expansion is not expected to cost more than $580,000, council discussed using the extra $20,000 left over from $600,000 RACP grant to purchase components to collect parking fees and handle parking permits.
David Duffy, an account executive with CTR Systems, a company that designs fully integrated software applications for parking garages, told council they should consider purchasing a $16,500 software application.
The software would maximize the city’s ability to control traffic flow and revenue while increasing security and reducing paper work, Duffy said.
Council reviewed information on the $16,500 software option but took no action, saying they wanted more time to review that and other options.