Progress

IAN CAMPBELL Times Leader Correspondent

PITTSTON – City officials announced Wednesday that in addition to the Broad Street sewer project coming in at a lower than expected $5.9 million, as announced at a special meeting Monday, the project will also be receiving $1 million in grant funding.

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• Sewerage projects get state funding

City officials also said possibilities exist for further grants to be applied to the project under the terms of the state Department of Community and Economic Development’s H20 PA Act.

The current grants, financed from gaming revenue, allow projects as far back as 2007 to be funded, council noted.

City officials said the lower cost of the project, and the size of the grant received so far, means that the proposed sewer fee increases will be much lower than city residents had feared earlier in the process.

It was too early to commit to a fee structure at this stage, officials said, but it should be less than a $100-a-year increase.

In other business, Councilman Michael Lombardo asked the city look into establishing a gateway initiative for the entrance routes to the city. He suggested that some of the properties on the city’s main thoroughfares were an embarrassment and pride of ownership needed to be encouraged.

He said those residents who made their properties presentable needed to be rewarded, while those who did not needed to face more aggressive code and zoning enforcement actions.

Lombardo urged Mayor Donna Connors to have police step up enforcement of the city’s littering ordinances as well.

Connors and Councilman Kenneth Bangs expressed support for the idea, which tied in with a proposal that police and fire officers had brought before District Justice Fred Pierantoni.

The departments were waiting for Pierantoni to approve their plan to permit citations to be issued, City Clerk Ron Mortimer said.

Once the district judge gives his approval to the plan, residents should see stricter levels of enforcement throughout the city, Mortimer said.