Belle Vernon getting ready to start road repaving project
BELLE VERNON – The borough is ready to proceed with the first major overhaul of its roads in more than 40 years.
Mayor Gerald Jackson updated council members about final preparations for the project. Jackson said once the borough secures financing for the project, it will advertise for bids. Work would start in late summer or early fall.
“We will probably repave half the streets this year, then finish the other roads next summer,” said Jackson. “While we are waiting to start repaving, our road crew will temporarily patch up some of the problem areas with asphalt.”
Jackson said depending on financing, the borough will have to borrow between $800,000 to $1.7 million to pay for the project. The borough will be required to furnish a 10% deposit to secure financing, he said.
“When we passed a 2 mil road tax several years ago, we were already thinking about how we could raise funds for the down payment,” Jackson said. “Now that we have enough money for the deposit, we can move forward with the project.”
He said repaving streets is “long overdue.”
“The last time it was done was when I was a little kid,” Jackson said. “Our residents deserve it. What’s more, road repaving is essential if we are to bring more businesses into the borough.”
During the meeting, council members voiced concerns about frequent power outages impacting homes and office buildings in the borough. Councilman Rich Saxberg said power outages occur as much as two to three times each day.
“The outages only last for a few seconds but that’s enough time to cause a major disruption for the borough,” Saxberg said. “Our fire department had to throw out food because our refrigerators shut down. We also heard that several residents lost appliances because of the surges. We are concerned that the power surges could jeopardize people who use medical equipment at home.”
Jackson said the outages have been frustrating.
“This has been going on for years. I can count on my alarm clock going off at least once a day because of the outages,” he said.
In other business, the council:
n Thanked Ed Martin Jr., a former councilman, for 19 years of service to the borough and thanked Walter Ziemba for donating prizes for the Fishing Derby
n Gave permission to First Christian Church to proceed with cutting a curb in its parking lot
n Hired Ryan McDaniel to join the borough’s street crew through the Private Industry Council (PIC) program
n Accepted the resignation of George Gerhold from the street department
n Announced that the first annual Mon River Community Festival will take place at Kuhn’s Park from July 15-20