$760,000 in grant funding coming to Union County municipalities, organizations

Justin Strawser, The Daily Item, Sunbury, Pa.
·3 min read

Dec. 22—Five entities in Union County have been awarded more than $760,000 in state funding this week.

The borough of Mifflinburg received the largest allocation: $500,000 toward the removal and installation of a booster station and replacement of a 100-year-old cast iron water main. West Buffalo Township received $150,000; Gregg Township Municipal Authority received $90,000; the Lewisburg Children's Museum received $11,490; and the Susquehanna Valley Chorale received $10,000. The total amount of grant funding is $761,490.

"It helps us immediately," said Mifflinburg Borough Manager Margaret Metzger. "It helps us make the repairs that are out of our price range. It helps us maintain reasonable rates for our ratepayers. It's vital improvement and it helps us stretch our funds."

The project has not gone out to bid yet, but Metzger anticipates the project to be $1.5 million at the most. The borough has been saving for the project and will also be seeking additional grant funding, she said.

A booster station amplifies the flow of water to customers, said Metzger.

"Our system is gravity-fed from our reservoir (along Route 304)," she said. "Some properties we serve are at a higher elevation. This station would pump water to them."

Additionally, the water mains and system are aging, and some need to be replaced for better reliability, said Metzger.

Metzger thanked state Rep. Stephanie Borowicz, R-76, and state Sen. Gene Yaw, R-23, for supporting and advocating for the borough's grant approval.

Borowicz, Yaw and state Rep. Jamie Flick, R-83, all made funding announcements on the five projects this week.

"The Commonwealth Finance Authority today (Tuesday) approved, and I strongly supported, these improvements in our infrastructure," Borowicz said in a prepared release. "The funding of the project to build a new booster station and to replace an aging water main in Mifflinburg Borough is great news, as is the substantial boost to West Buffalo's pumping station upgrades."

West Buffalo Township will use its $150,000 grant to upgrade existing water meters and two pumping stations. The Susquehanna Valley Chorale will use its $10,000 to offset revenue lost due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

Funding for the projects is being provided through the Commonwealth Financing Authority (CFA) Local Share Account (LSA) program, which uses gaming revenue to support projects in the public interest across the Commonwealth.

The awards for Gregg Township and the Lewisburg Children's Museum were considered at CFA Board meeting and approved through the authority's Small Water and Sewer Program (SWS), the Water Supply, Sanitary Sewer, and Storm Water Projects Program (H2O), and the PA Arts and Culture Recovery Program (PACR).

Gregg Township Municipal Authority will use its $90,000 in SWS funding for its Wastewater Treatment Plant Equipment Upgrade.

"The funds approved (Tuesday) are valuable investments that are good for our citizens and good for our region," Yaw said in a prepared release. "I was pleased to advocate for this funding and work with my colleagues in the General Assembly and our local officials to help make these projects a reality."

The grants are funded from multiple sources with the largest being federal American Rescue Plan Act money appropriated for recreation and conservation as part of previous Pennsylvania state budgets, according to Yaw and Flick.