Sep 23, 2019 2 min read

BELLE VERNON – A long-awaited road repaving project is being put on hold.

Belle Vernon Mayor Gerald Jackson said borough officials decided to postpone the project to take advantage of savings through the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Bank program.

“If we wait until next spring to start road repaving, we will be able to eliminate financing costs, which will save the borough about $200,000,” Jackson said at Tuesday’s council meeting.

Jackson said the borough’s roads will be repaved in phases, rather than all at once.

“We expect this project to take several years,” said Jackson. “We will pay down and pave roads, pay down and pave more roads, and so on. By spreading this out, we won’t have to raise taxes.”

Jackson said the borough’s road tax generates about $38,000 per year. The first phase of the project will cost about $400,000. Belle Vernon hasn’t repaved its roads in 40 years.

The Pennsylvania Infrastructure Bank (PIB) is a state Department of Transportation program that provides low-interest loans to help fund transportation projects in the state. The goal of the PIB is to leverage state and federal funds, accelerate priority transportation projects, spur economic development and assist local governments with their transportation needs.

Also, during the meeting, Jackson said the borough continues to hold discussions with the Mon Valley Rowing Club, which is seeking a location where it can store rowing equipment. The club is geared for high-risk youth in the area.

In other business, council adopted a resolution entering the borough into a lease agreement with the Municipal Authority of Belle Vernon Borough. Council also approved a motion for pre-buy of salt from the lowest responsible bidder. Costs are not to exceed $64.26 per ton.

In addition, council announced that Halloween trick-or-treating will take place on Oct. 26, from 3 to 5 p.m.