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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- A grant for a new fire engine, an upcoming gasline project and a potential pedestrian bridge were on Hollidaysburg Borough Council's agenda last week.
Council agreed for the Phoenix Volunteer Fire Department to submit a grant application for a local share account grant that would allow the department to buy a new fire engine for $936,841.
Richard Latker, with the Hollidaysburg Community Watchdog, voiced his displeasure with the request during the public comment section.
"The PVFD, for all intents and purposes, controls you," Latker said. "You'll go ahead and approve this grant irrespective of the legality of it. This is what will happen next: We will file a corruption complaint with the inspector general and the fraud division."
The council also approved a purchase agreement for the Diamond Supply property located at 320 N. Juniata St. to use as the landing point of a pedestrian bridge. The borough applied for a grant to construct the bridge, Borough Manager James Gehret said, and is requesting council "consider a purchase agreement for the property in the amount of $170,000."
The grant applications that the borough has submitted to build the bridge have provided the borough with some feedback, Gehret said, saying that officials felt the grant should have an agreement that showed the borough could actually buy the ground.
"This would be very similar to the ground that we purchased at Gaysport where if the grant doesn't become available, we're not interested in buying the ground," Gehret said.
The bridge would be intended to connect Canal Basin Park with downtown Hollidaysburg, giving pedestrians a potentially easier and safer way to get over Route 22 and the
railroad tracks.
Borough resident Jim Fitch said during public comment that was the first time he had seen anything about it.
"I have no idea what it's supposed to be other than it's going to cross 22 and the railroad, which means that's going to be a pretty high bridge," Fitch said. "And if it's going to be a pretty high bridge, you're not going to be catching me walking up those stairs. I mean, I may walk around a lot, but if you're going to put an elevator in, you're looking at maintenance problems. To me, that bridge is a lot of money for maintenance."
In other matters, Gehret gave an update on a Peoples Gas Co. project slated for the spring along Penn Street, from Garber Street to Blair Street.
Gehret said that Peoples is going to replace the gas lines in Penn Street, but that "PennDOT will not award Peoples a permit to put a line back in the street so the company's intention is to run the new gas lines from Garber Street to Blair Street on each side of Penn Street under the sidewalk."
When Peoples Gas digs up the sidewalks to work on the lines, there will be tree roots that need to be severed, which will kill the trees, Gehret said, adding that the trees intended to be taken down have been circled. Peoples Gas will pay to have the trees removed.
Gehret said that once Peoples Gas is done with the project, it would pay to replace the sidewalks that it had dug up.
During his Chief of Police report, Chris Storm said that September was "a busy month for the (Hollidaysburg Police Department)."
"We had 430 calls for service compared to 325 in September 2022," Storm said.
The board also approved the execution of the updated Intergovernmental Stormwater Committee Agreement.
Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor is at 814-946-7458.