Madden announces $1.45 million in grants
Rep. Maureen E. Madden October 22, 2024 | 2:49 PM
HARRISBURG, Oct. 22 – State Rep. Maureen Madden welcomes $1.45 million in state grants that were approved today for municipal and school projects in the portions of Monroe County that she serves.
“The infrastructure improvements funded by these grants will provide vital services to currently underserved corridors, such as new public sewer lines, a recycling center and transportation and safety updates. Additionally, the Pocono Mountain School District will benefit from better water quality and energy savings,” said Madden, D-Monroe. “The collaboration between House leadership, the CFA board, and my office ensured that these projects were funded.”
Madden said four Statewide Local Share Account grants were awarded by the Commonwealth Financing Authority including the following:
Middle Smithfield Township -- $111,137 for an extension of public sewer services along Route 402 to connect the existing pump station at Resica Elementary School with the commercial district along Route 402. The township hopes to incentivize commercial growth in this area with the completion of this project. Additionally, homes in this area will be able to connect to public sewer facilities instead of having to rely on on-lot septic systems.
Monroe County Industrial Development Authority -- $255,000 on behalf of Monroe County Municipal Waste Management Authority, for the construction of a residential recycling drop-off center located in Coolbaugh Township. The township has no outlet for disposal of these items until the waste authority has a hazardous waste collection event. The waste authority will be developing a property they own located in the Pocono Mountains Corporate Center South in Coolbaugh Township for the purpose of a drop-off facility for recycling and related disposal services for the Monroe County residents. The drop-off facility will allow residents to bring their recyclables and household hazardous waste such as oil, antifreeze and oil-based paints which are regularly stored in homes. If these items are collected regularly, the amount of illegal dumping and contamination of the environment will be reduced.
Mount Pocono Borough -- $200,000 to make improvements to Fork Street due to its poor condition as a result of not being designated for its current use. The improvements include new sidewalk construction on both sides of the street with ADA compliant ramps, reducing the street to a single lane, converting the street parking to parallel parking, a bus turnout lane, street lighting, and stormwater drainage. The result will be a safer roadway that better serves the public and transportation services. The total project cost is $1.9 million and a $646,027 PennDOT multimodal grant already has been secured toward it.
Stroud Township -- $500,000 to upgrade stormwater improvements at the intersection of Route 447 and Brushy Mountain Road. The proposed project is to replace the existing box culverts with larger ones, widen the swale buffer, and relocate a utility pole, conduit, and power line. The addition of a traffic signal will improve the safety for the heavily traveled intersection as well. The total project cost is $3.05 million and in 2022 an LSA Statewide grant of $938,609 was committed to the project as well as a $250,000 multimodal grant.
The Statewide LSA funding comes from the PA Race Horse Development and Gaming Act, which provides for the distribution of gaming revenues through the CFA to support projects in the public interest within Pennsylvania.
Madden also said the Pocono Mountain School District was awarded $388,349 in Public School Facility Improvement Grant funds to be used toward an $832,500 energy savings project at West Junior High School, West High School, Clear Run Intermediate School, and Clear Run Elementary School located in Tobyhanna and Coolbaugh Townships, Monroe County.
The project will replace the oil-fired domestic water heating systems in four schools with high efficiency heaters in order to improve water quality and health as well as optimize efficiency, performance, and longevity of the domestic water systems. New propane tanks will be installed on concrete pads for stability and a trench will be excavated to install service lines. The new, clean-burning energy source will provide consistent performance and benefit the environment.
The PSFIG program was created to provide grants to public school districts and area career and technical schools for eligible facility improvement projects. It is administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development under the direction of the CFA.