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Woodward Twp. to pave Croak Hollow Road

Woodward Twp. officer promoted to corporal Woodward Township Police Chief Stephen Falotico, right, hands officer Steve Brion his stripes after promoting him to corporal at Tuesday night’s township meeting. Brion was promoted to the position after serving the township for a year and half. He has previous experience in law enforcement and began working for the township in October 2017, Falotico said. LAURA JAMESON/THE EXPRESS

By LAURA JAMESON

ljameson@lockhaven.com

LOCKPORT — It looks like Croak Hollow Road in Woodward Township will be paved sometime this year.

Township supervisors Tuesday night said the township will receive a $175,000 PennDOT MultiModal grant to pay for the work.

“This is the first time the township was awarded this very competitive grant,” supervisor chairman Kyle Coleman said. “This is a huge win for the township.”

Coleman said the township has wanted to pave the roadway for some time, but was unable to, so they would tar and chip sections as needed. But, the tar and chip didn’t help the problem, he said.

“It was like putting a band aid on it,” Coleman said.

The project will cost a total of $250,000, with $175,000 coming from the grant.

PennDOT will match funds with the township to cover the remainder, meaning the township will only have to spend $12,500, recreation director Cindy Love said.

“We’re lucky to get that grant money,” said Love.

Coleman said Love was key in helping gather information to get the grant.

“We’ve benefited greatly thanks to Cindy Love and her expertise,” he said.

The township plans to pave the roadway from Route 664 next to Swissdale church to the Farrandsville Road bridge.

PennDOT is planning to replace the bridge this year, Coleman said.

There is no set time for when work on the project will begin but they hope to start late this summer, he said.

The supervisors plan to do a walk-through of the roadway with PennDOT representative Daren Stover to identify where drainage pipes could be placed in the road, Coleman said. He said the township plans to place these lines first, pave the roadway and add a two-foot shoulder as well.

The grant will pay for all of this as well as the trimming of low hanging branches along the roadway, Coleman said, adding that Stover and the supervisors will work together within the coming weeks to create a bid for the project.

The township also received an $8,000 grant that will be used for new playground equipment, including handicapped accessible equipment, for Riverview Park.

Coleman said he will meet with a local family who has a handicapped child to help pick out proper equipment that children would enjoy.

This grant is reimbursable and the supervisors plan to take money from the Act 13 fund to pay for the equipment.

SEWER AUTHORITY

The supervisors are still working on dissolving Sewer Authority accounts and combining them with the township’s accounts.

At January’s meeting, they reported the county commissioners signed a resolution allowing the township to assume the authority’s obligations regarding 2012 bond issues.

In 2012, the township was given approximately $3.7 million by the county, which they provided to the authority, to pay off previous debts as well as for various projects and maintenance.

In return, the township pledged its tax powers to guarantee the loan would be paid off.

Not much will change in terms of this loan due to the fact that taxpayers are already paying for it.

Township solicitor Bob O’Connor is working with the authority to complete the take-over process.

At Tuesday night’s meeting, a representative from First National Bank presented the supervisors with information related to the authority’s accounts.

Vice President of Treasury Management Michael J. Shuey said the bank has a great track record with the sewer authority. Due to the authority’s relationship with the bank it would be simple to combine its account with the township’s, Shuey said.

The bank would be able to create a single log-in to make accessing the accounts easier for the township secretary, Jackie Bartlett, he added.

He provided all three supervisors with an example of what the accounts may look like, based off January’s numbers.

The total interest per year they would see from the authority’s accounts is approximately $3,217, he said. The amount will vary but, if combined with the township’s existing accounts, it would total approximately $12,000 per year in interest, he said.

There is a $5,000 minimum required in each account, but Shuey assured the supervisors that wouldn’t be an issue.

“You’ll never see any fees,” he said.

The supervisors tabled the discussion for a later date with plans to look at other banks to find the best deal.

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