FOUNTAIN SPRINGS — The Butler Township supervisors met Tuesday morning to adopt an ordinance to borrow $300,000 for the repaving and repair of roads this summer.
The ordinance (2016-2) allows the township to increase its indebtedness by the issue of a general obligation note plus interest for road work purposes, fixing interest, the payment schedule and the maturity of the note.
Before the vote, Chairman David Kessler said this is the right time to get the work done.
“The township roads are in pretty bad shape as we all know, and with the decrease in oil costs, it’s actually beneficial for us right now to do some of that work,” Kessler said.
Township solicitor Christopher Riedlinger said the funds will come from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Bank at 1.75 percent to be repaid annually over 10 years. The township will have annual payments of $32,962.60 beginning in July 2017. Total interest paid over 10 years will be $29,626.03.
The PIB provides low-interest loans for the design, engineering, right-of-way and repair, reconstruction and construction of public highways, bridges, public and private airports and railroads and public transportation systems. It is an agency of the state Department of Community and Economic Development.
The interest rate is a fixed rate at one half prime and is set upon receipt of the loan application. The maximum loan term is 10 years. The current PIB rate is 1.75 percent.
“We’ll pay it once a year after we get the liquid fuels money,” township Secretary Kate Staudenmeier said.
Voting to adopt the ordinance was Kessler, Vice Chairman Paul Fetterolf and Supervisor Bob Burns.
In a related action, the supervisors approved the opening of a new township checking account as a “sinking fund depository” for the loan funds at BB&T bank, Ashland.
Riedlinger asked for the affidavits of publication of the legal advertisements of the ordinance last Friday and today from The Republican-Herald in order to forward them to DCED for its approval.
“The (DCED) approval usually takes two to three weeks, though they’re allowed up to 30 days, and as long as we get their approval, from that moment forward you can access the money and do what you have to do,” Riedlinger said.
After the meeting, Kessler said the township road crew and District 5 Municipal Services Supervisor John Davis of the state Department of Transportation toured the township.
“The road crew went out with John Davis to get an idea on the roads,” Kessler said. “As it stands right now, there are 19 roads we can do in the township with this money.”
Kessler said it has reached the time when the roads have to be repaired.
“When it comes to the roads, it always comes to the point of no return,” Kessler said. “We’ve been putting on Band-Aids, and we’re at a point where Band-Aids can’t even fix them anymore. If we do this now, we can at least save the infrastructure and still be able to use these roads for the next 10 years.”
“If you’re going to do macadam work, now is the time to do it,” Burns said. “When we first started to talk about this money, we were hoping we could do maybe 10 roads, but now with the oil pricing down, there are 19 roads now. Most of the work will be paving.”
Kessler plans to get the bid solicitations out as a soon as possible to get the road work started in July.
“We definitely want to get it down before the fall, and during July and August before the school buses start going,” Kessler said.
Kessler did not have a list available with what roads will be worked on, though he said Country Club Road is a priority.
“That road is horrible, but there are roads from Englewood to Fountain Springs to Lavelle and Mowry. We’ll have a bunch of them,” Kessler said.
In other business, Kessler asked residents to remove any standing water to eliminate spots where mosquitoes breed.
“This mosquito problem with Zika is concerning since it’s not just isolated to the Caribbean,” Kessler said. “It’s here. I just ask the residents to be more conscious of any buckets or old tires or anything that can hold water that can breed mosquitoes. Let’s be more proactive with it.”