Export officials will have to resubmit a proposal for state grant funding without plans to repave the borough’s central parking lot.
But they aren’t exactly sure why.
“This is a multi-modal transportation grant, the same (type of state grant) the county came to us with for our park-and-ride a few years ago,” said Councilwoman Melanie Litz. “And that included a parking lot. It was OK then, why is it not OK now?”
Borough officials are pursuing a roughly $2.6 million grant from the state’s Department of Community and Economic Development to unify their downtown area. In the past few years, it has seen the addition of the Westmoreland Heritage Trail, a relocated veterans’ monument and a replica of the former borough train station.
This year, council approved a contract with Monroeville architect Lisa Intrieri of Design 3 Architecture. Litz said the goal was for Intrieri to design a plan to “give us an overall, coordinated, central community gathering space.”
The concept plan, dubbed “Heritage Square,” better defined vehicular, bus and bicycle traffic within Export through newly designed crosswalks, sidewalks, bike lanes and parking areas.
Solicitor Wes Long said, after submitting the grant application, the borough was told that the multi-modal grants are not intended for things such as parking lots. Council President Barry Delissio said he received a copy of the grant application with all instances of the word “asphalt” crossed out.
Long said the change reduces the project’s cost by about $567,000, “but it still includes things like a trail landing on Lincoln Avenue with bike racks, sidewalks from the war memorial to Washington Avenue, and new sidewalks around the train station.”
Tying everything together would be the paving of the borough’s central parking lot, nestled between the main downtown area and Turtle Creek.
“That paving will be struck from the application,” Long said.
The resubmitted application will ask for $1.95 million in grant funding. Borough officials will meet with local legislators this week to discuss alternative funding streams to finish their vision for the downtown area.
Litz said she didn’t understand why paving could not be part of the grant application.
“We’re talking about an area that caters to people on the trail, people walking through downtown, and people driving through the borough,” she said. “How is that not multi-modal?”
Council is expected to vote to resubmit the grant on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in the borough building, 5821 Washington Avenue. Its regular monthly meeting had to be extended Tuesday, after borough officials did not post the meeting agenda on their website early enough.
A new state law which took effect in August, Act 65, mandates that communities must post a detailed agenda in both print and digital formats if possible, at least 24 hours in advance of a public meeting.