Mount Carmel Borough is looking to take legal control of parts of seven properties along Shamokin Creek by the beginning of next month.
That project has an estimated local price tag exceeding $1 million, the majority of which is anticipated to be paid with state grant funding and much of it has yet to be approved.
William Cole, borough solicitor, is expected to file writs of possession on the seven properties with Northumberland County Court in the coming days. Two of the property owners will first be served right-of-entry agreements they had refused through certified mail, according to minutes from
an Oct. 26 meeting with several principals involved in the project.
The writs of possession are expected to be completed by Dec. 1.
The property owners have five days to respond to the filing. After the five days lapse, Cole said the borough will control all legal access to the properties, according to the meeting minutes.
The owners of those properties have thus far refused to sign construction and maintenance easements related to the borough's protracted flood control project.
No one will be displaced because of land acquisition.
Borough council on Thursday voted to demolish 224-226 N. Locust St. as part of the project at a cost of $9,489, pending receipt of writ of possession. Council also authorized SEDA-Council of Governments to procure a project engineer to handle the relocation of utilities along Shamokin Creek.
The Shamokin Creek Flood Restoration Project has been in the works the past 15 years, Bill Seigel, SEDA-COG official, said during the Oct. 26 meeting. Plans for improving the creek channel date as far back as 1984, but the costs at the time were unmanageable.
Property owners in the Shamokin Creek flood plain have had creek waters in their homes all too often over the years and some were particularly hit hard during the Flood of 2011.
The creek channel has fallen into disrepair, as evidenced by this description from a News-Item article published Aug. 28: Stone walls are caving in, crumbling, tilting and in some cases have eroded away, leaving nothing more than dirt and pebble embankments. Even wooden structures intended to keep the walls from caving in have long since snapped. The width between walls varies drastically along the creek; at one point, they're less than 5 feet; at others, as wide as 15.
The new construction project will begin at North Locust and East Water streets, with the 20-foot wide concrete channel running about one mile to the border with Mount Carmel Township near the Mount Carmel Area Silver Bowl, where an open pool and levy system is planned, according to The News-Item archives.
Three bridges at Walnut, Hickory and Chestnut streets will be reconstructed.
There had been talk of dredging the creek channel to remove dirt and debris. However, two borough officials said Thursday that the cost - estimated at about $100,000 for a two-block area - would likely prohibit that.
According to the minutes from the Oct. 26 meeting, the borough's expenditures on the project total an estimated $1,067,067 - $787,020 reimbursed to state Department of General Services, which is funding the project; $20,047 for the acquisition of Reading Anthracite property, an agreement of which was confirmed Thursday; $100,000 for utility relocation; $75,000 for administration and legal services; $50,000 for engineering services; and $35,000 for contingency funding.
The borough has allocated since 2008 a total of $326,072.83 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding for the project. Council is awaiting word on another $500,000 in CDBG funding it applied for. Northumberland County has pledged $253,390 toward the replacement of the three bridges, based on a 2010 estimate.
Donna Enrico, Department of Community and Economic Development, said the Shamokin Creek Flood Control Project received one of the highest rankings in the latest round of project reviews, according to the Oct. 26 meeting minutes. However, she said she believes the funding is not in place and, if approved, the additional $500,000 can't be released until that funding stream is confirmed.
Phil Dunn, a legislative aide for State Sen. John Gordner, R-27, responded to Enrico's comments by saying Gov. Tom Corbett has the final say as to "if" and "when" state funds are released.
It's unclear when the flood control project will be put out for bid. Doug Hill, of Department of Environmental Protection, estimated the entire bid process - from soliciting proposals to awarding a contract - would take about four months. Construction, he said, is estimated to last 2 1/2 years, according to the minutes of the Oct. 26 meeting. Funding and expenditures
The amount of local funding allocated to the Shamokin Creek Flood Control Project in Mount Carmel is as follows:
- CDBG grant funding (2008-11): $316,972.83;
- CDGB grant (approval pending): $500,000;
- Northumberland County pledge: $253,390.
The total amount of estimated expenditures for the borough is as follows:
- Reimbursement agreement with state: $787,020;
- Acquisition of coal company land: $20,047;
- Utility relocation: $100,000;
- Administration, legal costs: $75,000;
- Local engineering costs: $50,000;
- Contingency funding: $35,000.
Source: Minutes from Oct. 26 meeting