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County housing agency receives stimulus aid |
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Written by Publisher
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Tuesday, 24 March 2009 |
Photo by Ted Lutz
The McKean County Redevelopment and Housing Authority has received federal stimulus money to make repairs and improvements at the public housing units it manages. This public housing unit is located on Welsh Street in Kane.
By Ted Lutz
Republican Staff
SMETHPORT – The McKean County Redevelopment and Housing Authority will be receiving funds under the federal stimulus package.
Dusti Pantuso, executive director of the Smethport-based agency, said the authority expects to receive $424,098 from the stimulus program “in the next month.”
Pantuso said the funds would be used to “improve our buildings.” She pointed out that the money couldn’t be placed in the authority budget to cover normal operational expenses.
The authority oversees 216 public housing units in the county. The housing units include 12 on Welsh Street in Kane and 12 on Phillips Street in Mt. Jewett.
Other units are located in Smethport, Lewis Run, Port Allegany, Eldred and Foster Township. The city of Bradford has its own housing authority.
Pantuso said the authority would be busy “identifying” projects that qualify for the use of stimulus money. She said the authority plans to have “signed contracts” in place within a year for the improvement projects.
Pantuso and other authority officials are preparing a list of proposed projects. She said the list would be prioritized to make sure that “what desperately needs to be done is done.”
As previously reported, the authority also is expected to receive stimulus money to boost its annual allocation of funds under the federal community development block grant (CDBG) program. The authority oversees the CDBG program for boroughs and townships in the county.
Due to its size, the borough of Kane is considered an “entitlement” community and receives a separate allocation of CDBG funds. The stimulus money is expected to increase the annual CDBG funding for Kane.
Other boroughs and townships in the county “compete” for CDBG funds. Mt. Jewett and Hamliton, Wetmore and Hamlin townships all have submitted applications for the next round of CDBG funds.
The first public hearing on the CDBG applications was held March 9 in Kane. A second hearing had been slated for April 3 at the authority office in Smethport.
Gay DeGolier, coordinator of the CDBG program for the authority, said this hearing has been postponed until the agency receives more information on the amount of stimulus money it will receive and how it can be spent.
The stimulus money is made available through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment (ARRA) Act, which was approved by Congress earlier this year.
In related news, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has announced plans to spend more than $1 billion in federal stimulus money on 241 road and bridge projects in the state.
According to PennDOT, the projects include $3,566,000 for the restoration of Route 219 between Lewis Run and Custer City. The proposed project calls for roadway, drainage and guiderail improvements.
PennDOT also plans to use stimulus money to replace the Jander’s Run Bridge on Route 44 in Ceres Township, McKean County.
An estimated $7,027,000 in stimulus money is scheduled for PennDOT use for bridge preservation work in McKean, Cameron, Clearfield and Potter counties.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 30 July 2009 )
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