LEWISBURG -- Union County officials reviewed nine requests Tuesday totaling more than $700,000 from groups seeking a share of the county's next round of Community Development Block Grant funding.
Major projects include renovating the structurally unsound Mifflinburg Borough Building and infrastructure improvements at the former Pennsylvania House property in East Buffalo Township.
Bill Seigel, program director with SEDA-Council of Governments, said the county is projected to get $262,600 this year. In addition, Lewisburg should get about $113,700, and Kelly Township is projected to get roughly $101,000.
Lewisburg and Kelly are entitlement communities in the grant program, which has operated out of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development since 1974. It provides communities with resources to address a wide range of development needs.
The requests are as follows:
n Hartleton Municipal Authority, requesting $40,000 to extend the discharge pipe of its sewage treatment facility to reach a stream that has shifted course.
n Union County Housing Authority, requesting $50,000 to help fund its housing rehabilitation program, which includes emergency repairs often caused by malfunctioning furnaces.
n New Berlin borough, requesting $24,000 to help purchase property near the community park to become a gateway for the park.
n Western Union County Youth Center, requesting $50,000 to help fund the construction of a second floor at its new center and add access for handicapped people.
n Hartley Township Municipal Authority, requesting $50,000 to fund repairs and upgrades to the sewage treatment plant.
n Susquehanna Valley Women in Transition, requesting $75,000 to help double the space at its shelter. Due to lack of space, the shelter has had to turn away four women and 10 children in the past two months, according to DiAnn Baxley, chief executive officer.
n East Buffalo Township, requesting $100,000 on behalf of Meridian to help improve the interior roads and road access at the former Pennsylvania House site. When completed, the estimated $112 million project will create 455 jobs, according to Kurt Kissinger, of Delta Development Group, which is helping Meridian with the project funding plan.
n Mifflinburg borough, requesting $255,000 to remove the architectural barriers inside the borough building as part of a possible renovation plan. If the Borough Council decides to demolish the building or vacate it, the grant would not be available, according to Seigel.
n Lewis Township Municipal Authority, requesting $105,000 to help fund upgrades to its sewage treatment plant in Millmont, including the fixed generator and computer system.
The project selection, which will determine which projects are included in the county's grant application for 2009, will be held Feb. 17 in Lewisburg and March 3 in Kelly Township. The county commissioners will review the application on March 3 at the government center and select the included projects on March 17.
For information about the grant program, visit www.hud.gov.
n E-mail comments about this article to jnorth@dailyitem.com.
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Block grant requests reviewed
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