SHAMOKIN - The city has until month's end to finalize the grant process for the demolition of six Rock Street homes condemned in the wake of September flooding.
Four of the six property owners have submitted applications for the Hazardous Mitigation Grant Program through Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The program is administered locally by city hall.
Steve Bartos, city clerk, said during Wednesday's workshop session of city council that he expected the remaining property owners to apply.
The program is completely voluntary and despite the condemnations, city officials can't submit a grant application on behalf of any of the property owners.
Apart from the grant applications, Bartos said the area must also be surveyed before the Dec. 30 deadline set by FEMA. Deed restrictions forbidding future construction on the lots must also be put in place.
If the deadline is missed, he said the project would be a wash.
The idea is to demolish all six homes; however, Bartos said a demolition project could move forward for the property owners who volunteer for the program despite any potential holdouts.
A row of homes from 10-16 S. Rock St. as well as 44 and 48 S. Rock St. were all condemned by the city after the Flood of 2011 in early September.
City engineer
The topic was brought up as part of a greater discussion about the merits of contracting a city engineer.
Bartos made the recommendation on the grounds that the city will be dealing with a pair of major projects in the coming year: renovating the Shamokin Creek flood channel and ongoing repairs to rail tracks in Shamokin.
These projects along with the potential demolition project necessitate greater expertise in the field of engineering, he said.
The creek channel project will exceed $1 million, Bartos said, and will be paid for with federal and state disaster funding. It will likely be restored rather than replaced, keeping it a stone channel as originally built in the 1930s as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project.
As for the rail work, Bartos said more than 12,000 railroad ties were replaced by the Shamokin Valley Railroad earlier this year. Amesite laid on the ground near the rails was damaged during the process; however, it was said during Wednesday's meeting that when the amesite was laid, it could have encroached the right-of-way for the railroad tracks.
The tracks are now owned by SEDA-COG.
Damage to the amesite can be seen along municipal parking lots in the city's downtown.
Bartos said that if the city had an engineer, the rail project could have been reviewed, permitted and bonded - none of which occurred.
The city has had at least two engineers in the past, councilman William Strausser said.
Bartos said an engineer can be retained for four-year terms and be used as-needed, along the lines of how the city employs its solicitor.
The city does employ Larson Design Group as an engineer for its Community Development Block Grant program specifically and may consider using the firm in the short term toward finalizing the Hazardous Mitigation Grant Program process.
In the meantime, approval to seek out a city engineer could appear on the agenda for a voting session as soon as Monday's monthly meeting.
Kehler park
Council will consider during its Monday meeting using $20,800 in lieu of state funding to complete work the renovation project at Claude E. Kehler Community Park along West Arch Street.
The project is almost complete, said Lynn Dixon, community development director.
Three roofs must be re-shingled and until that is done, state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) will not make its final payment of $20,800 to the city, Dixon said.
The singles are estimated to cost $3,784 and will be installed by street department employees. That won't occur until the spring.
Dixon is seeking the money from council to pay off the remaining invoices to project contractors. If council approves the request, half of the money will likely come from the general fund when Shamokin's annual Tax Revenue Anticipation Note is received and the other half from a recycling fund.
When the roofing is completed and DCNR inspects and approves the work, the state department will make final payment, which in turn will be transferred back to the city funds from where the money was borrowed, Dixon said.
She told council that DCNR actually recommended she take this approach in borrowing the money from city coffers.
Council's monthly meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Monday at city hall.