Dunbar Township receives grant
DUNBAR TWP. – Dunbar Township residents got some good news Friday from U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Johnstown. Announcement was made that the Dunbar Township Municipal Authority will receive a $4.2 million grant for a sewerage system project, and, according to Richard Widmer, vice president of Widmer Engineering Inc. of Connellsville, that money will be used toward a $7 million project beginning at Wheeler and traveling along Route 119 toward Bells Drive.
Widmer said the funding would be used to construct a new wastewater collection, transportation, and pumping system as well as to expand the existing sewer treatment plant.
Murtha, in a news release said, “The current malfunctioning system presents a severe health hazard to local residents. The Dunbar Township project will eliminate the current malfunctioning waste disposal systems, resulting in a healthier community and an economic tool for local residents and businesses.”
Widmer said the project would begin at the BPF gas station on Route 119 and continue toward Bells Drive.
He additionally said that the project would take in Wheeler and Monarch and would serve about 580 dwellings.
Gary H. Groves, USDA official, said, “The funding to the Dunbar Township Municipal Authority is a fine example of the USDA Rural Development’s commitment to the future of rural communities.”
He added, “Those in the Dunbar Township project area will benefit from the much-needed new wastewater system.”
Dunbar Township Supervisor Chairman Larry Mayros said the township has been waiting for this project for a long time.
“We knew something was coming, but we didn’t know when or how much it would be,” said Mayros. “We really want to get the Route 119 project going because it will be great for the township.”
Mayros said the added infrastructure will be a “big boon” for the township and he said that in this day and age it’s tough to get financing from the state or federal government for any project.
“People run for elections and they promise the moon and stars, but when you come right down to it, the real money comes from the state and federal government,” he said. “All of the sewerage and water lines we put in over the years was done with grant money.”
Mayros said all three supervisors are in agreement that the Route 119 corridor project needs to be completed.
“This is fantastic for the township and for the residents,” continued Mayros. “We eventually want to go from the (Joseph A. Hardy – Connellsville Airport) to our line in Connellsville, but it’s a major project and it has to be done in stages because we simply don’t have the money to do it all at once.”
Murtha said the USDA would help to reduce the monthly user charge to local residents.
Widmer said he hopes to get another grant to expand work in the Dunbar Borough/Dunbar Township project.
According to Murtha, the Dunbar Municipal Authority will receive a $1 million grant through the Army Corps of Engineers, a $3,218,000 grant through the USDA Rural Development and a $2,574,000 loan through the USDA Rural Development for the township sanitary sewerage system project.