The Norwin Public Library in Irwin will not accept a $456,060 state grant for a remodeling project because labor costs required by the grant would increase the price for the interior renovations, the library director said.

The library will opt out of a Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority grant under the multi-purpose community facilities program because of the requirement that the contractors pay government-required prevailing wage rates to their workers, said Diana Falk, library director.

“We are grateful to have received the grant,” Falk said, but some preliminary estimates contractors gave the library’s architect were significantly out of proportion to the other proposals.

“We would have had to spend far more money than we were awarded. We are very fortunate as our reserves will allow us to complete the project within our budget,” Falk said.

The library board wants to construct a family restroom in the children’s section, create a second meeting room, paint the interior, install new flooring throughout the library and install automatic doors on the Caruthers Lane entrance, Falk said. The library anticipates the project will begin in early 2025.

“It will take approximately three months, and we will definitely have it completed by the very busy summer months,” Falk said.

The state grants require the payment of prevailing wage rates for construction, demolition, repairing and remodeling jobs that are paid for entirely or in part by public finds, according to the state Department of Labor and Industry. The prevailing wage rates are applicable to publicly-funded projects that cost more than $25,000. The project can not be divided into separate sections costing less than $25,000 to avoid paying prevailing wages, the state said.

The wage rates set by the labor department vary, based on the workers’ job classification and where the work is being done. The rates are based upon collective bargaining agreements and other data for the craft and classification in the specific county where the public works project is being performed, the labor department said.

For a point of reference, the prevailing wage rates for a Westmoreland County Housing Authority project in Sewickley Township in April 2024 required hourly rates for carpenters ranging from $40 an hour to $43 an hour; electricians at $48 an hour; laborers at $23 to $31-an hour; plumbers at $38 an hour; and painters at rates ranging from $29 to $34 an hour, according to the labor and industry department.

“We know that the requests far exceeded the amount of money to be awarded ($45 million) and so many worthy projects, like Sewickley’s (Township Public Library), were funded, that I know the grants will have real impact in those communities,” Falk said, referring to the $1 million grant the Sewickley Township library received for a new building in Herminie.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)