Bradford City has plans for the nearly $300,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds anticipated for 2019.
Sara Andrews, executive director of the Office of Economic and Community Development, went over this year’s allocation during the second of two required public hearings on the CDBG funds. The hearing was held prior to Tuesday’s regular city council meeting.
Plans for the $298,504 entitlement program funding include further historic district streetscape improvements, blighted property demolition, single family housing rehabilitation and administration costs, according to Andrews.
She broke down further how the money is to be spent.
Historic district improvements slated to be paid for with $195,000 include Main Street paving and curb and sidewalk improvements on Pine and Congress streets and possibly Veterans Square, too, depending on the cost.
Andrews said the city will continue work to improve the historic district, with goals including “pedestrian safety and economic sustainability of the historic district.”
Between CDBG funding, Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) funding and other funding sources, nearly $4 million of improvements are slated in the district, she noted.
In the long term, the city will look at improvements on side streets including Chambers and Chestnut streets, Andrews said. Phase II of the Main Street streetscape project, between Festival Way and High Street, will be paid for with Pennsylvania Department of Transportation monies.
CDBG money will be used to pave Main Street in 2020, which will be bid in a separate contract from streetscape improvements on Pine and Congress streets. Last week, she talked to an engineer about possible street work and found there is a huge difference between the cost of restoring the brick road and simply paving the road.
“I’m one who wants to preserve as much as we can,” Andrews said, but explained the cost to restore the brick makes her want to consider paving instead.
Regarding scattered site demolitions of blighted properties, Andrews said they have completed 36 in the last six years, but she knows there are “many, many more we need to address.”
She estimates that $35,000 of the 2019 CDBG funding will help them to demolish about six more.
About $15,000 in CDBG funds is to be used along with HOME Investment Partnership Program funds to rehabilitate single family homes across the city. The CDBG funds will help with the local match to receive the $500,000 HOME funding. That funding can be used for projects such as lead-based paint testing and radon testing.
The last $53,504 of 2019 CDBG funding is slated for general administration costs such as application preparation and environmental review record and audit.
Further projects that will be considered under the city’s three-year plan include further downtown historic district streetscape improvements; more blighted property demolitions; continued revitalization of the Second Ward Neighborhood through infrastructure improvements, housing rehabilitation and new housing.
Also under the three-year plan, the city will plan improvements at Callahan Park that could include upgrades to the swimming pool, tennis courts, playground equipment and other recreational equipment. Andrews noted it has been 25 to 30 years since the last time major work was done at the park.
Two residents brought up issues in their own neighborhood at the CDBG hearing.
One said that when large houses are torn down, there are an influx of bats and pigeons at the other houses. He wondered if the city could do anything to prevent it and suggested bat houses.
“I don’t necessarily want to get rid of bats,” he noted.
Andrews said she would have to check with code enforcement.
“We will take a look at that before we do any major large home demolition,” she added.
Another resident said he has had issues since new sidewalks were installed on part of Congress Street. He said the sidewalks were “beautiful,” but they stop before his home, and the different grading is causing the water to go down the sidewalk onto his property and into his basement.
Andrews agreed the problem is the curbs. She said there are plans to fix them between Park Street and Leland Avenue next year.
She added that she has been trying to get the Bradford Sanitary Authority to address stormwater issues in that area.
The Bradford Sanitary Authority is in charge of stormwater management in the city.
Councilman Brad Mangel, who also serves on the sanitary authority, said the authority has been looking at the area and hopes to solve some of the problems there.
At the regular council meeting that followed the CDBG hearing, council introduced an ordinance amendment regarding historic preservation. They passed it on the first of two readings, but they must vote on it a second time before it becomes law.
The amendment provides city council with up to 21 days to review a recommendation from the Historic Architectural Review Board regarding a building or sign permit. The current ordinance states that council shall act on the recommendation at the meeting immediately following the receipt of the recommendation.
Mayor Tom Riel requested at the Sept. 10 meeting that council reconsider the law on HARB procedure. Council often has only one day to consider HARB recommendations because of how the law is currently written.
Also at the meeting, council approved two equipment purchases for the police department that are being funded with private donations: $4,891.48 to GovConnection Inc. and $3,353.29 from L-Tron Corp.
Council voted to allocate state aid to the pension trust funds as follows: $184.337.97, police pension fund; $204,819.96, fire pension fund; and $296,988.94, non-uniformed pension fund.
The next regular council meeting is set for 7 p.m. Oct. 8.
