The Board of Supervisors at Antis Township have agreed on where it will spend $115,617 of Community Development Block Grant funding.
The largest of the projects is the extension of the municipal water lines to the 40 mobiles homes in the Miller Trailer Park, located across from the high school.
“They do not have public water,” said Linda Kimmen, township secretary. “They have a well that is servicing all 40 trailers.”
Currently, the residents are being charged metered rates and the township have received numerous complaints from the residents living there concerning the bad quality of water and low pressure.
The township conducted a survey of the residents to learn the income levels. Because more than 50 percent of those residents were of low or moderate income, the state allows CBDG funding to be used to furnish this type of infrastructure. It will be serviced by Bellwood Borough.
The project will take about two years to complete and early estimates show a cost of more than $130,000. About $81,000 of CDBG funds will be used this year and the rest will be paid out of the 2004 allotment.
“That’s to completely put the lines in there and replace what’s there and hook people up,” Kimmen said. “It’s a really good project.”
More than $17,000 has been committed to the township’s scholarship program.
This program has been in existence for a few years and is designed to help families of low to moderate income levels that have students who are seniors and have been accepted into a college or a trade school.
“Once they have been income accepted, or eligible, then it goes to the scholarship committee at the high school,” said Kimmen. “The committee would then review the applicants.”
Kimmen said that normally, the township awards these scholarships to three or four students.
“Last year we had $12,000, but this year we only have $6,000,” she said.
This year, the state has allotted $17,156 for the program, but Kimmen noted that money needs to be dispersed over a two-year period.
An allotment of $2,168 has been earmarked for the upgrading of the kitchen at the Associated of Retarded Citizens of Blair County, located within the Becky Sheetz Building.
Kimmen said all the municipalities who have been given CBDG funds were asked to contribute to this. It’s county money and all the municipality’s money.
A little more than $13,000 has been designated for the I-99 Enterprise Zone for job creation.
Because all municipalities are being serviced by the Enterprise Zone, each has to contribute to keep it “up and running for marketing.”
Kimmen said the amount each participating municipality will contribute is based solely on the population of that municipality.
According to a report provided by the township’s Assistant Planning Director Craig T. Stoyster, total project funding available is $115,617, the environmental review and delivery costs are $5,000 and $26,475 for administrative costs.
