Masontown council hears infrastructure complaints
MASONTOWN — Masontown Borough Council acknowledged Tuesday that infrastructure improvements are needed but said multiple upgrades to water and sewer systems have been made.
As they have at several recent council meetings, residents again spoke out about the need for improvements to the borough’s infrastructure, specifically citing the storm water system and ongoing problems with flooding.
JoAnn Young, who resides at 809 E. Church Ave., said she and her husband have battled flooding problems for years.
Residents who live on Cumberland Avenue also spoke about their flooding concerns at Tuesday’s meeting.
Those who live in the Cumberland Avenue area began complaining to council after flooding occurred May 13-14 and more than a foot of water allegedly entered people’s basements, resulting in property damage and posing safety and health risks.
Young said that council members have done nothing over the years to improve infrastructure but have instead recently decided to spend almost $1 million for a new municipal complex.
Young said voters should have been given an opportunity to say whether or not they wanted to fund such a project and asked council to get her information on how much in interest the borough will be paying out over the course of a loan taken out to pay for the project.
Any money spent on the new municipal complex would have been better spent on infrastructure upgrades, she argued.
Council President Harry Lee said it’s not true that no infrastructure upgrades have been made and cited several projects involving pump stations, replaced water and sewer lines and upgrades to the borough’s water system that have been completed.
“We’ve accomplished a lot over the years. They may be things that members of the public don’t see, but they were major projects,” he said.
Lee said Young can have access to any of the borough’s financial information by filling out a right-to-know request and pointed out that the municipal complex project has been publicly discussed at numerous council meetings.
No residents spoke out against the municipal complex at previous meetings during the initial planning stages before contracts were awarded and construction began. Some grant money is also involved in the project.
Council said the borough is taking steps to help alleviate the flooding issue on Cumberland Avenue and that smoke tests soon will be conducted as the first step.
Councilwoman Kim Essig said the borough needs to put together a plan to help alleviate the flooding problem on Cumberland Avenue so that the borough can begin looking for funding.
Borough engineer Art Brower previously said it would cost about $200,000 for infrastructure upgrades to help alleviate the flooding problem residents in the area.