Additional East Franklin Work Needed for Grant Usage

By Jonathan Weaver

Before some work through a $25,000 Department of Conservation and Natural Resources grant can continue in East Franklin Township, more engineering work is thought to be needed first, according to Township Engineer Ken Howard.

The 2011 grant is mostly to be used to build a unisex restroom at the Heritage Park pavilion with handicap parking and quick access.

County Planning and Development Community Division Director Jennifer Bellas informed supervisors that DCNR would like more drawings be made of plumbing and electrical work before the grant is finalized.

“Those kinds of drawings would cost $1,100 to satisfy DCNR,” Howard, of Bankson Engineering, said. “(Based) on the last e-mail we got from (Bellas), she’s not going to let this go forward without it.”

A first set of drawings was thought to be adequate to fulfill the obligation, but was not.

Township Parks and Recreation Chairman Norm Gaggini said East Franklin Township supervisors have already paid about $29,000 for site maps.

“As it stands right now, your engineering firm has charged more to design that building than the building is costing – and now you’re charging another $1,100 just to show where the wires and where the pipes are going to go! I’m going to ask you for the people of this township, to waive that $1, 100,” Gaggini said.

Howard will ask Bankson Engineers owners or the sub-contractors about waiving that fee.

The grant must be utilized by 2015.

Supervisors can match the funding with labor or material cost during the next three years.

East Franklin Township has had a lease agreement on the space for the past 16 years.

Howard also updated supervisors on final progress of the new township building.

“I talked to (MASCO Construction of Canonsburg) (yesterday) – they understand we have to have completion by the end of (July) because of the bank. I went over the punch list of items today, and he said his painter is coming back in to try and finish anything up on that punch list – so hopefully this and next week, they have everything wrapped up,” Howard said.

There were no pay requests yesterday afternoon, but he hopes for more at July’s public meeting.

“We’re pleased that they’re on-track here,” Howard said.

Supervisors also approved a nearly-$130,000 bid from Youngblood Paving, Inc. and a $41,100 bid from Force, Inc. of Indiana to pave three streets within Tarrtown – Tarrtown Road, Waterway Drive and the intersection of Center and Maritime Roads.

Force, Inc. also paved about a dozen streets last year. Nearly 490 tons of the asphalt was spread among portions of Carpenter Drive (in the village of Walkchalk), Maple Drive, Sheridan Drive, Longview Drive (within Country Club Estates) and Bennett Drive.