Redstone water line project could begin as early as summer
REDSTONE TWP. – A combination of state, local and private funding will be used to install 2.2 miles of water line along Stone Church Road in Redstone Township. The new line will provide service to more than 60 homes, Shumar Industries and the E and M Land Co. site across from Shumar’s. According to Judy Spray of Bankson Engineers, the engineer for the Southwestern Pennsylvania Water Authority, E and M intends to develop a golf course and as many as 250 to 350 homes on the site.
Spray said the project will cost a total of $700,000. State Sen. Richard A. Kasunic, D-Dunbar, said the projected will be funded through a $459,147 PennWorks grant and a $240,853 low-interest loan.
“This funding will enable Shumar Industries to expand its operations and hire more workers. This effort is all about saving jobs and making our region more attractive to economic expansion,” Kasunic said.
Kasunic said Shumar Industries currently uses a private well that cannot keep up with the company’s production needs.
Spray said Shumar and E and M will cover $125,000 of the low-interest loan.
“They will pay the principle and interest on the low-interest loan,” Spray said.
Spray said the township is using its Community Development Block Grant money to cover the remaining $65,000 of the loan. Spray said as much as 75 percent of a project can be funded through a PennWorks grant, but in this case, the grant will cover only two-thirds of the project and the township offered the support so the two companies didn’t have to cover more than they had agreed to provide.
Township supervisors Chairman Ralph Rice said the new water line, combined with repairs to a slide area on Stone Church Road, will make that area of the township ready for development.
“There’s not a whole lot of developable ground in Redstone Township,” Rice said. “Once the road is fixed and the water line is in, we’re in an area where there’s some ground.”
Spray said she anticipates a closing on the loan within three or four months, then the engineering work can begin on the project. Spray said work should begin in the summer or fall and should take five or six months to complete.
“The golf course and residential development hasn’t begun yet, but Mr. Shumar has employees who need safe water for drinking and sanitation,” Spray said.
Spray said the well Shumar currently uses is a poor producer and is not supplying enough water for the business.