Tearing up town
SLIPPERY ROCK — This summer, construction on downtown will begin once again as the second phase of renovations will roll into the borough.
The main part of the renovations, a $5.3 Main Street project was completed in October 2004.
Managed by Slippery Rock Development Inc., it included decorative sidewalks, rock formations, turning lanes for traffic at the intersection of Franklin and South Main streets, buried utility lines, rebuilt infrastructure, and landscaping along Main Street.
It also added new parks, including Gateway Park with a waterfall and gazebo to welcome visitors to the borough.
The second phase will continue many of these same improvements along Franklin Street, from Main Street to Grove City Road.
The project will improve sidewalks, add decorative landscaping and widen Franklin Street by about a foot on each side but it won't include burying utilities. On the north side of the street, utility poles will be removed and utilities will be rerouted.
Consultants E.G.&G. Inc. of Akron, Ohio, handled the first phase of improvements and will also manage the Franklin Street project.
The second phase will cost around $1.6 million, most of which has been committed by federal grants.
Borough council agreed recently to start the process of borrowing $100,000 for that project. The loan will be for 15 years, which wouldn't start until 2007. The borough needs to commit for these funds so the state Department of Transportation will begin the project, according to council members.
Until the actual cost of the $100,000 is known, council members aren't sure how the borrowing will affect the borough budget.
For the first Main Street project, council borrowed $200,000, which is still being paid off.
A town meeting will be held in a few months to let residents know more details of the next project, according to council. Work won't begin until summer.
Since the project began, two new restaurants have located in that section of the borough and three new businesses have opened. In the same time, one pizza shop and a bookstore have left that area.
Meanwhile, Perry O'Malley of the Butler County Redevelopment Authority has been working with council to redevelop an eight-block section of the borough which includes that main intersection. Under this proposal, the project will likely include building a new borough building and possibly a new volunteer fire station.
Council has not approved any plans for these changes, but it has told O'Malley to find funding and start planning for redevelopment possibilities.
On O'Malley's recent recommendation, council began discussing whether to use eminent domain to take property at 107 Franklin Street owned by Bill Hulings. The property houses Bill's Auto, a garage at the corner of Franklin and North Main streets.
Though this is a corner council members have talked about redeveloping in the past, none seemed eager to take such drastic measures during council meetings in February.
Hulings has said he would oppose any eminent domain action unless the borough would consider paying him for the property and for his lost wages.
