Housing project concerns Masontown residents
On Wednesday, Oct. 1, The Herald Standard featured, as its headline story, a problem Masontown is having with plans to build Workforce Housing in the town.
This is appreciated; however, one news article cannot expose the depth of the problems Masontown is experiencing and will experience related to the prospect of this proposed workforce housing. It goes beyond the misinformation the builders gave to our council and residents.
One additional problem, beyond those mentioned in the news article, is the proposed location of this housing, which is at the entrance to our county park, The Masontown-German Park. This park is a major cornerstone to the redevelopment plans, in place, for Masontown. We have invested money and time to consulting firms in order to establish our redevelopment plans. All recommendations pointed to the importance of this park in our redevelopment. We have been following this recommendation with the major, county-wide and regionally known activities we had had in the park, such as the Fourth of July event, concerts, and the Halloween event, as well as many other activities.
With this new housing, planned to be placed to the left of the only entrance/exit to and from the park, and the Fort Mason Project at the right side, one can imagine the congested traffic, confusion, and disputes when events are held there. Without the housing, the one entrance/exit already is congested when there are events.
In addition, the proposed housing would require the removal of many attractive park entrance trees. Not only do these trees provide a beautiful entrance to the park, but they also provide a natural sound barrier for nearby residents when there are concerts. This tree area also is a forest wetland, containing diverse flora and fauna, and is something that the Department of Environmental Protection is encouraging.
With these difficulties related to our park, we are not encouraged about the planned redevelopment of our town. Parks and their provided recreation and activities are vital for any town’s redevelopment.
The second problem, which is an important one for Masontown residents, is providing for economically needy families and individuals of our town. We take this quite seriously. Masontown, a small community with a population of approximately 3,400 people, has three housing units run by the Fayette County Housing Authority, in addition to many house and apartment rentals that are participating in the section 8 voucher program. Further, there are halfway houses and domestic abuse houses already in the borough. Then, it should be noted that we have a large population of elderly people, many living alone.
The town and its numerous volunteers and agencies are attempting to provide adequate care for all of these citizens. A Salvation Army office, in the capable hands of Rose Cook and her many volunteers, is located in our town, helping many. Beyond that, we have a community soup kitchen, housed in the Presbyterian Church dining room with many volunteers.
There also is a Helping Hands store, run by volunteers, offering minimally priced clothing, household items, and help in setting up households. The Albert Gallatin Human Services (Senior Centers) is here, offering Meals on Wheels and many other services. Most churches help.
We have a food bank, once again manned by volunteers. Fayette County services are brought in, such as Community Action which provides counseling and housing. There also are personal care homes, the Amedysis Home Nursing Care, and even AAA sessions, all providing a range of services of our needy citizens. We, the people of the town and the agencies, do all that we can do.
There is no doubt that this town, with its small population, cares about its citizens who are in need of assistance. Our present concern, though, is that we cannot adequately care for more people than we now have. Adding more citizens in need would place an undue stress on our already overloaded services and volunteer time. How much more can one small community give and do?
Masontown residents are working toward a better future, on one hand, while working with its great needs now. We are wondering why people with no understanding of our town whatsoever would plan a deceptive project for our town without our input. That project would break the backbone of our town.
Dr. Patricia Lubits Gump is a resident of Masontown.