Slippery Rock Borough Council split in a decision to write a letter giving the Slippery Rock Municipal Authority permission to reroute traffic onto borough roads during a municipal authority project.

The authority has plans to install about 4,100 feet of water main along Main Street this year, doing so one year before the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation plans to repave the same area.

Borough council granted the water authority permission, but in a 4-3 vote with council members Denton Zeronas, Jeff Campbell and Lauren Christmann voting against the motion.

“These are very old lines that have had multiple breaks in the past couple years,” said council President Russell Karl. “Detouring traffic as they do each section seems to be the most logical decision.”

Those in opposition reinforced concerns raised by Mayor Jondavid Longo regarding the effects rerouting traffic might have on businesses along Main Street that have struggled throughout the pandemic.

“Business owners tell me they're very worried about how this is going to affect their business,” Longo said.

Campbell asked why the authority did not ask for bids for night work in addition to working during the day.

Authority General Manager Shaun Brown responded to questions through a virtual meeting platform. He said the authority received early permission from PennDOT to do the project during the day, which would save the authority and its customers money.

Brown estimated that working at night could cost $850,000 more, and the added cost could lead to increased fees. He said the nature of night work could cause the project to take longer, even potentially running into the winter months.

“It never goes as fast at night,” Brown said.

Brown also reassured the mayor and council that the authority would work block by block, and it will finish each block before starting a new one. He said this would cause a disturbance for a business for a time frame spanning a few hours to half a day, but it will not continue for multiple days.

A contractor will begin work Monday to install a new water main on North Main Street, beginning at Parklane Drive and proceeding south to Water Street. Once the North Main Street portion is complete, the contractor will begin work on South Main Street and proceed south to West Liberty Street.

This project will take several months to complete.

Council member Gene Allison asked Brown to ask PennDOT officials to consider allowing one-lane traffic with flaggers at each end instead of a full reroute, to which Brown agreed.

Fountain project

In the midst of lengthy discussion about the South Main Street reroute, council members also discussed the future of a defunct water fountain at the intersection of New Castle Road and Elm Street.

Council voted to table filling in the unused fountain after Slippery Rock Development President Bill Sontag asked during the meeting for a 30-day stay of action.

Sontag said a recent project at Middlesex Crossing featuring a complex waterfall feature inspired him to find out if a simpler project could repurpose the fountain.

“I know it's been an ongoing issue for (15 to 20) years. Slippery Rock Development is responsible for putting it in there,” Sontag said. “At this point, we'd like 30 days to try and figure something out, and if not, then fill it in.”

Council Vice President Ron Steele said he liked the idea of giving Slippery Rock Development a chance to salvage the project. He suggested the 30 days would also give the community an opportunity to fundraise or facilitate the project if they wish. “It's been a pain in the butt since we put it in there, but it could be beautiful once it's going,” Steele said.

Slippery Rock Borough Manager Shawn Pugh said there are boulders within the fountain that are sitting on rotten wood. He said even if Slippery Rock Development takes over the fountain project, it will still either have to backfill that portion or replace the structure holding the boulders up.

Pugh said the borough's own plans, which would have to be first approved through the tabled motion, would likely include backfilling that portion to prevent the boulders from collapsing into the fountain. He said there are also plans to improve the fountain aesthetically.

“Then, they would put soil in the front of it and plant flowers in it,” Pugh said. “They could put a lighting system in it and make it look pretty.”