Aug 18, 2016 4 min read

Public meetings of the Morris Township Board of Supervisors, convened in the township secretary’s and tax collector’s office, are rather crowded.

“It can accommodate about eight people,” said Supervisor David “Dusty” Stockdale.

Township officials and residents hope to have some breathing room when construction of a 6,850-square-foot municipal building at the intersection of Prosperity Pike and Plum Sock Road is complete early next year.

Morris officials applied for funds from the Local Share Account of gaming revenue from The Meadows Racetrack & Casino and were awarded $250,000 after the county commissioners and state Department of Community and Economic Development approved the allocation. The total cost of the project will be $1,403,855. RSH Architects of Pittsburgh designed the municipal building and will oversee work by Waller Corp. of Washington, which was awarded the construction contract July 26.

“We just broke ground on Monday,” Stockdale said.

Two-thirds of the building will be storage area for road crew equipment and break and locker rooms. The remaining part of the building will be used for public meetings, a rest room and office space for the township secretary and tax collector.

Stockdale on Thursday, as part of the county commissioners’ meeting, thanked everyone involved in the Local Share program because, without the $250,000, “this building project probably would not be going on.”

One of the points the township made during its pitch is that it will have a large generator to use in case of power outages, which will enable the public to use the building as an emergency shelter.

Along with its lack of adequate space for meetings, the current building in Prosperity does not have enough garage space for township equipment or restrooms. Once the new building opens, the former township building will be, in Stockdale’s words, “delegated” to Morris Township Volunteer Fire Department, which plans to renovate it.

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Morris Township has 1,105 residents spread across 28.4 square miles. It was formed in 1788 from Amwell Township.

The village of Prosperity dates to 1848, according to Boyd Crumrine’s “History of Washington County.” Previous settlements in the vicinity were called Lindley’s Mills and Mill Place. Other villages in the township are Old Concord and Sparta.

Nathan Voytek, community development specialist for the Washington County Redevelopment Authority, announced another Local Share project in the area. The McGuffey Senior Citizens Center, 105 Green St., Claysville, is receiving $63,850 through the program to expand its dining room into its garage, allowing seating for 15 to 20 more people, and to remodel its kitchen with replacement cabinets, countertop and sink.

Swede Construction Corp. of Elizabeth, Allegheny County, was awarded a $69,300 construction contract for the expansion in late June. HMT and Associates of Canonsburg designed the project and will oversee the construction.

Mary Lynn Spilak, director of Washington County Aging Services, said the senior center patrons will be using the additional space to begin an exercise program.

Joyce Ellis, executive director of the LeMoyne Community Center, Washington, said she was so excited about receiving $150,000 from the Local Share Account that she could have done a backflip, had she not been wearing a dress.

“If you’re 2 to 92, you’ll have something to do at the sports arena,” she said, noting that the playground will also offer equipment that can be used by those with disabilities.

The nonprofit community center at 200 N. Forrest Ave., which has operated in Washington since 1956, will have stations with new exercise equipment, basketball hoops, swings, bleachers and benches installed during its initial phase. Jeffrey Associates of Indianola, Allegheny County, was awarded a $103,000 contract. Rob Phillips, assistant community development director for the Washington County Redevelopment Authority, said a multi-purpose sports court is to be completed during the second phase in the spring of 2017.

The redevelopment authority administers the Local Share Account program for Washington County. Applications for the next round of Local Share funding are due by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5, at the redevelopment authority, Suite 603, Courthouse Square office building, Washington. The agency’s email address is redevelopment@racw.net.