Article courtesy of the TIMES NEWS August 23, 2006

S. Hill receives extra $250,000 for borough buildings project

AMY ZUBEK/TIMES NEWS State Rep. Keith McCall, fourth from right, stands with borough officials as he reads a letter from the Office of the Budget that releases $1.25M in funding for a new borough, fire company buildings. Borough officials are, l-r, Fire Company Chief Engineer Robert Henninger, Fire Chief Shawn Hoben, Mayor Paul McArdle, council members John O'Gurek, President Joe Weber, John Shemansik, and Harry Miller.

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The current borough building and fire company stand in a deteriorating state. The fire trucks and emergency vehicle on the right have minimal room between vehicles while missing brickwork can be seen along the top and sides of the borough building.

Summit Hill can now officially move forward with the new municipal buildings project.

Council members, fire company personnel and State Representative Keith McCall gathered outside the current borough office yesterday to discuss the additional funds McCall was able to get the borough for the project.

The borough received official word on Aug. 15, stating that an additional amount of money was being released with the $1 million state grant approved earlier this year.

In a letter written by Secretary Michael J. Masch from the Office of the Budget, it states "Governor Rendell has authorized the release of $1,250,000 in Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) funding for the construction of a new municipal office and fire company for the Summit Hill Borough."

The borough can now start withdrawing money as soon as an architect is contracted.

"Keith worked hard to get this additional quarter of a million added onto the $1 million that he was able to get for the borough earlier," Joe Weber, council president, said. "With the funds we are receiving from the government along with our matching half, this project looks like it will finally be a reality now that we have $2.5-million to work with. We need the new buildings, it's not safe right now."

The current conditions of the borough office building and fire company have deteriorated quickly over the last few months. A crack running vertically up the eastern wall of the borough offices has been separating a large portion of the wall, causing chunks of bricks and cement to crumble and fall. In the fire company, parts of the ceiling have fallen and leaks have to be covered with plastic so that the fire equipment is not damaged. There is also very limited space for fire trucks to be safely housed in the facility.

"There are so many things going wrong in the building," Fire Chief Shawn Hoben said. "We need this new building badly so we can provide the community with better services.

"This money is a big help. We all want to thank Keith and Governor Rendell for recognizing this issue and helping us," he added.

The next step that council needs to complete before the project can officially begin is to contract an architect.

Weber explained that they have interviewed architects for the project but could not reach a final decision until the funds they received were available.

He also said that the project start date has not been set because it depends on which architect the borough contracts.

"Some have said six months. Others have said longer periods. We'll know more after our next council meeting," Weber said. "All we know is that this needs to happen as soon as possible."

"This project is not for the beautification of Summit Hill, it's a necessity that should have been done years ago," John O'Gurek, vice president of the council, added.

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