Ford City Council President Carol Fenyes listens intently to Vice-President Tyson Klukan’s discussion of accomplishments in the Borough during 2018.
While council members are often faced with difficult tasks of governing borough affairs, Ford City town leaders pointed to several positive accomplishments in 2018.
Ford City Council President Carol Fenyes said many projects addressed problems with the borough infrastructure, but one project took the limelight.
“I am thrilled that we were able to complete a project which the previous council started – the water treatment plant!”
Fenyes said that she is currently looking forward to the updates to the Comprehensive Plan and Re-zoning.
“While not completed yet, it will be completed by mid-2019. We have done a tremendous amount of work this past year. The re-zoning is going to bring Ford City forward. It lays out what we can do along the river and it solidifies and makes the zoning easier to manage. The area by the river has been industrial for years. There are environmental studies that will need to be done. But it will give us a framework for moving forward within time spans… what we can accomplish in 1-3 years, 4-5 years, up to ten years.”
Fenyes said the new zoning will be much more manageable than the old.
“As it applies to each different zone, it will be laid out with bullet points. You can go across each different zone and see it on paper. The visual will be easier to conceptualize rather than dealing with our current zoning ordinances which are more than 40 years old.”
Fenyes also prided their Council on being proactive with business.
“That is a high point for the borough as well,” she stated.
Council Vice-President Tyson Klukan gave his laundry list of accomplishments at the final public meeting of the year.
Tyson Klukan finished the meeting with a laundry list of things he said were accomplishments.
“We see many things are that changing in the Borough. In personnel, hiring Chief Paul Hughes and additional office staff… to implementing technology within our borough… to citizens accessing information and making payments with the click of a button… to updating infrastructure that hasn’t been updated in decades. Furthermore, we have seen investments by new businesses within the borough and also expansion from established groups already… Let’s focus on the positives of what has been accomplished in 2018 such as completion of 100-plus ADA sidewalks that allow our citizens and visitors better walkability… the lease of 313 acres for gas drilling… adding a trail head at the lower end of town through a DCNR grant… Ford City entering into the Armstrong County Land Bank that is a mighty step forward toward the fight against blight… the implementation of Standard Operating Procedures in our police department that were long overdue.”
While much has been done, Klukan warned of complacency.
“Don’t become content and get comfortable, but get involved and become proactive. Let’s move forward and flourish in 2019,” he said.