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Masontown officials to seek up to $2.5 million in funding for sludge-removal system

By Erin Hayes for The 5 min read

MASONTOWN — Borough officials will be seeking up to $2.5 million in funding to complete upgrades to its sludge removal system or face fines and penalties from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

“It’s a very broad estimate,” said council President Frank McLaughlin of the $1 million to $2.5 million needed for the general cost of the upgrades.

While the DEP has yet to set a deadline by which the upgrades must be completed, a deadline may be forthcoming with fines and penalties to be levied should the borough fail to address the problem, he added.

Council had considered many options in addressing the problem in a series of executive sessions held over the last month, with representatives from the DEP and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) sitting in on two of the meetings.

McLaughlin has stressed that there is not an issue with the water quality in residential households and commercial properties, and that the DEP-mandated upgrades affect only the water on the discharge side of the borough’s water plant, where waste is released back into the river.

The water plant was constructed in the 1930s or 1940s and has been revamped over the years, McLaughlin said. Grants to fund the DEP-mandated upgrades will be sought before loans, but there is a possibility that securing a loan may cause an increase in water rates, he added.

Following a lengthy executive session Tuesday, council voted 4-2 to construct a new sludge disposal facility, do repairs to and conduct maintenance on a million-gallon storage tank, and replace existing supply piping. Included in the vote, council agreed to proceed with the construction of a proposed 10-inch interconnect with Southwest Water Authority, to be paid for with $107,000 in grant funding already received and earmarked for specific usage.

Councilmen Harry Lee and Mike Washco cast the descending votes, with Lee suggesting that the borough “get out of the water business and be done with it.” Other council members pointed out that while shutting down the water plant and purchasing water from Southwest Water Authority may save the borough money in the short term, it would cost the borough money in the long term.

The input of all council members was necessary in making the important decision, said McLaughlin, who called two councilwomen not in attendance Tuesday.

Councilwoman Kim Essig, who was tending to a sick relative, attended the meeting by phone. Councilwoman Bessie Kopacko was also called, but did not answer her phone or return the call.

Also at the meeting, council and residents in attendance received assurances that a proposed workforce housing project would not be another Fort Mason Village, a Housing and Urban Development (HUD) housing project that officials say has been a hotbed of disruptive behavior and a drain on borough police department resources.

Developers of Masontown Family Housing project, a 37-unit townhouse development intended to provide affordable housing to working families for at least 30 years, were awarded more than $6 million in tax credits from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency for the financing of the project in June.

“We have nothing to do with HUD, and they have nothing to do with us,” said John Verbanac of the different financing structures involved in the two developments.

Verbanac is president of Summa Development of Pittsburgh, which submitted the successful application for the federal tax credits. He said it is understandably confusing for borough residents because Masontown Family Housing will be constructed next to the Fort Mason Village on a tract of land purchased from HUD.

Potential Masontown Family Housing residents must pay rent and have the ability to pay rent, he said. To be eligible to live there, the annual income for a family of four cannot exceed $39,060, but unlike with public housing, renters must have income. Reduced rent for a family of four is expected to be about $879, including utilities, whether paid for by the landlord or the tenant.

Rent on a similar unit developed using private funding would be double that amount, said borough engineer Rob Sleighter, who is also serving as the architect for the project.

Perry O’Malley, president of the Pennsylvania Affordable Housing Corporation, stressed that the development is structured to provide affordable housing for working families.

The feasibility of investing in the construction of the workforce townhouses was based a market analysis, he added.

“There has been no development of housing here in 20 years. This area has been seriously underserved,” he said. “Hopefully you’ll be pointing to our development saying, ‘That’s what we want to see’.”

Groundbreaking on the $7 million Masontown Family Housing is set for March with completion of the project expected around April 2016.

In other business, council approved the transfer of $1,000 into the borough Police Department’s K-9 fund and the donation of a 2002 police cruiser that has been taken out of service to the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office.

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