Redevelopment authority director pleased by projects
Citing two developments that recently opened as well as the ongoing expansion project at Uniontown Hospital, the director of the Uniontown Redevelopment Authority said Tuesday that he personally is aware of $70 million in development in the city at this time. Speaking during the monthly authority meeting, executive director Mark Yauger said he is proud of the SeniorLIFE center that opened on West Fayette Street and the 30 rent-to-own houses that were constructed in the city.
“I hope we can keep doing good things,” Yauger said.
Mayor Ed Fike said the rent-to-own homes included $7.5 million in investment and the SeniorLIFE center included $3.5 million in investment.
“Anybody that says we’re not moving forward – they’re not on planet Earth,” Fike said.
Fike said the senior center will mean 100 jobs for the city and the hospital project has brought 200 jobs.
Yauger said, additionally, people throughout the city are fixing up their houses, and he added that an addition is being built at Yum Yum Donuts.
Fike said an addition is being put on a rest home on Easy Street, too.
“It’s all over town,” Fike said of improvements to city sites.
Fike said blighted buildings on Lemon Street have been torn down and that “helps the nice homes” in the area to look better.
Plans are under way to demolish additional houses on Lemon Street and to construct a park in the area, according to Jeff McLaughlin, Elm Street manager.
Yauger said for years there was a need to clean up the blighted areas, but now a good team has been assembled to get the job done.
In agenda items, the authority voted to award a three-year contract to One Communication of Burlington, Mass., for local and long distance telephone service at a monthly cost of $307.
Yauger said the contract would save the authority more than $80 a month on phone services.
The authority was using Verizon for telephone service.
“There will be no changes in numbers or services, just a lower bill,” Yauger said.
The authority approved the submission of two grant applications to the state Department of Community and Economic Development in support of years two and three of the city’s Main Street Program for $75,000 and $70,000, respectively.
The authority also heard that the 2007 single audit did not contain any issues of non-compliance. Edward P. Opst, a certified public accountant, reported that the audit was completed later than he expected because of issues with the prior auditor and journal entries from 2006.
He said the audit, which included more than $500,000 in federal funds, only contained minor internal control issues, all of which have been resolved.
Opst also completed the core communities grant audit.
Opst said he would next start the 2008 audit immediately.