HOLLIDAYSBURG — Hollidaysburg Borough may be able to avoid a substantial delay to the Gaysport Stormwater Mitigation Project by avoiding a phase II study by the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office thanks to a recent meeting with state Department of Environmental Protection officials, according to Borough Manager Ethan Imhoff.

A number of Native American artifacts were discovered on the project site earlier this year, prompting a phase I study to determine their extent.

Earlier this summer, additional artifacts were discovered which may necessitate an expanded phase II study before work can proceed, which would constitute a multi-month delay to the project many Gaysport residents hope could be the solution to persistent flooring issues in their ward.

How long of a delay is dependent on what the study uncovers — more artifacts and/or human remains would take more time to examine.

Imhoff told the Hollidaysburg Borough Council in August that a planned meeting with DEP officials later that month may lead to a resolution to the situation, allowing work to continue without a phase II study.

At Thursday night’s council meeting, Imhoff said DEP representatives told the borough to submit both its phase I study and project work permit, and they will then determine if a phase II should be conducted.

“They’ll review it, and we’ll take it from there,” he said, noting that the DEP review could still result in a phase II study.

Imhoff estimates that the permit will be submitted by the end of September.

The borough will submit a $1.4 million grant application to the PennDOT Transportation Alternatives program to pay for sidewalk paving and curbing for the East End Stormwater Management Project, which would be a major source of funding for the project.

Imhoff said that the borough would pursue other sources of grant funding if PennDOT rejects its application.

“There’s a lot of older sidewalk in that area, some speeding issues on that section of Allegheny Street, so that’s where we want to do some traffic calming to narrow down the road in that vicinity to give drivers a visual cue to slow down a bit,” Imhoff said.

New police vehicles

According to Sgt. Richard Oldham, who filled in for absent Police Chief Chris Storm, the Hollidaysburg Police Department will submit a $163,738.64 grant application to the Department of Community and Economic Development LSA program to acquire two new police vehicles.

If awarded, the department will use the funding to purchase two 2025 Ford Interceptors, which are built on the Ford Explorer platform.

The LSA grant program is one of the premier state grants, offering up to

$1 million in funding drawn from a tax on state gaming proceeds for a wide variety of community improvement uses with no local match requirement.

The department currently has five Interceptor police vehicles, and is hoping to increase its fleet to a total of seven, Oldham said.

The current vehicle fleet consists entirely of Ford Interceptor models.

“It’ll cut down on maintenance expenses because we currently have nine guys driving five vehicles,” Oldham said.

Mirror Staff Writer Conner Goetz is at 814-946-7535.