Tissue mill may come to North Union
A plant that produces tissue paper could be in the works for North Union Township. Officials involved with the development aren’t saying much about it, but some information came to light at a recent township supervisors meeting.
Responding to a resident, who said at Tuesday’s supervisors’ meeting that he heard a paper mill was going to be built in the township, Supervisor Robert Tupta said there is a possibility that a tissue mill would be constructed.
The mill would produce products such as bathroom tissue and paper towels, he said.
“We’ve done a lot of research,” Tupta said … “It’s not a definite thing yet.”
When contacted later, Tupta said he and other officials visited other plants like the one proposed for the township. He declined to comment further.
State Rep. Deberah Kula, D-North Union Twp., said the supervisors briefly mentioned the possibility of a paper mill coming to the township a couple months ago at a meeting of all township supervisors in Fayette County.
Kula said the supervisors didn’t provide any details about the development and she hasn’t heard anything about it since then.
“Any business would be a positive thing,” said Kula.
At a meeting in January, supervisors said Fay-Penn Economic Development Council was considering selling property it owns in the township to a major manufacturer.
Fay-Penn officials could not be reached for comment.
At that same meeting, the board of supervisors adopted a resolution to extend Republic Street, which is off Connellsville Street, by 80 feet to reach property Fay-Penn owns in a tax-exempt Keystone Opportunity Zone.
Supervisors said the 80-foot road extension is a paper alley that is not in use. The supervisors authorized the township solicitor to prepare an ordinance to extend the road, but the board has not taken action on the ordinance.
In February, the supervisors granted Fay-Penn a right of way through township property adjacent to the municipal building on South Evans Station Road to property that Fay-Penn owns.
Tom Kumor, chairman of the board of supervisors, said Fay-Penn’s property was landlocked.
At Fay-Penn’s quarterly board meeting in January, officials said this year’s budget projects the sale of property it owns in North Union Township for $300,000.
Fay-Penn President Mike Krajovic said the sale involved a “project that I can’t talk about right now.”