Feb 8, 2007 By Rebekah Sungala 3 min read

South Union Township supervisors gave their approval Wednesday to rezone a piece of property, changing it from a B-1 to R-1, business to residential. The 7.8-acre property, located on McClellandtown Road near the Work Parkway, is owned by James E. Work of Uniontown and is currently used for residential purposes, supervisors announced during the public hearing.

The hearing was held at 4 p.m. in conjunction with Wednesday’ regular meeting. Supervisors heard no testimony either for or against the zoning change.

Board chairman Thomas Frankhouser said the property in question is adjacent to both business and residential areas.

Supervisors voted unanimously to amend the zoning ordinance, with Frankhouser making the motion and Supervisor Rick Vernon seconding it.

In other matters, Supervisor Robert Schiffbauer publicly asked state legislators to “take a close look at” funding infrastructure projects.

Schiffbauer said there’s not enough funding available to maintain and upgrade state-owned roads.

If funding does not become available, Schiffbauer said the Route 21 improvement project may not happen.

The project consists of reconstructing and widening Route 21, also known as McClellandtown Road, from just west of the Duck Hollow/Dixon Boulevard intersection, locally known as Thompson Crossroads, to the overpass that carries Route 21 over Route 119 near the Uniontown Mall.

In addition to reconstructing and widening the road, plans also call for the relocation of the Cherry Tree Lane intersection. Additional construction plans on Route 21 call for horizontal and vertical alignment adjustments, deck replacement on the structure over Route 119, plus drainage, guardrail and traffic signal upgrades.

Officials with the state Department of Transportation (PennDOT) said the project, which covers a 1.4-mile span of Route 21, would cost about $15 million, with 80 percent of the project funded federally and 20 percent coming from state funds.

Schiffbauer said the project won’t go forward if state money isn’t available.

“If these funds aren’t acquired, you can take that map and throw it in the garbage can,” Schiffbauer said, referring to a map of the Route 21 improvement project tacked to the wall of the meeting room in the municipal building.

Acquiring funding for infrastructure projects is, according to Schiffbauer, something legislators needs to look into.

“I hope our legislator will take a very close look at it,” he said.

The supervisors also conducted the following business:

– Passed a motion to appoint and hire Philip Michael as a part-time code enforcement officer.

– Reappointed John Over of K2 Engineering to a one-year-term to enforce and administer the Universal Construction Code. To serve as the alternate, supervisors reappointed Fayette County as the administrator of the Universal Construction Code.

– Awarded a bid contract to Freedom Fuel Services Inc. of Uniontown for $33,366 worth of gasoline and diesel fuel.

– Welcomed Neil Christopher, the legislative assistant for state Rep. Tim Mahoney, D-South Union Twp. Christopher said he can be reached at Mahoney’s local office at 724-438-6100.

– Announced next month’s meeting will be held March 14 instead of March 7.