The Butler Farmers Market, the target of vandalism over the past several years, appears poised for a vibrant new life, thanks to the state government and Butler Redevelopment Authority.

Plans call for the "open" market structure between Race and Shore streets near West Cunningham Street to be enclosed and converted into a multipurpose facility.

Under the plan, the structure still would be used for the farmers market between May 1 and Nov. 1, but it also could play host to educational programs, mini-flea markets, sports card trading events — even possibly to a flu shot administration initiative.

"We'll be able to do so much more there, now that we'll have a secure, enclosed venue," said Perry O'Malley, authority executive director.

The revitalized facility is to have utilities such as cable and telephone service, as well as curb ramps for the handicapped. The contractor selected to enclose the structure will install 20 steel garage doors and two man doors as part of the project.

With completion of the work must come zero tolerance for future vandalism. Although significant, vandalism in the past apparently was not enough to trigger an active city police investigation, since vandalism continues to occur.

An example of the vandalism is the missing boards evident in the right-center of a photo in the Feb. 24 Butler Eagle. A number of other boards also are missing from the structure.

It was in late 2008 that the redevelopment authority received a $335,000 state grant through the Fresh Food Financing Initiative to pay for the project. O'Malley said work on the facility is scheduled to begin about May 1 and will take about 90 days to complete.

With the improved structure, Butler's farmers market facility should grow to be much more of an asset than it ever has been in the past.

Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner merits praise for reminding property owners who haven't previously done so to apply for the tax relief to which they might be entitled through the state revenue from slot-machine gambling.Filing for the tax cut is a one-time process. Property owners need not apply annually.But while Wagner should be lauded for his reminder, he also merits more than a small measure of criticism for waiting until virtually the last minute before issuing his reminder.The deadline for filing for the tax cut is Monday. Wagner said homeowners who are not getting the tax cut should file a "homestead exclusion" application that they can obtain from their school district or county, by the end of that business day.Trouble is, for many of the people who still haven't applied, the short notice will make it impossible for them to submit an application prior to the deadline.It's understandable that an application deadline is necessary, but there should have been many more well-publicized reminders issued, beginning with the arrival of the new year.The state should make such reminders a priority for 2011.

As Butler awaited the latest blast of wintry weather on Thursday, many in the city didn't need to look very far to see that the snowy mess from prior storms still had not been properly addressed.Numerous streets still had limited parking because residents opted only to shovel out a space for their own vehicle and maybe a couple of feet extra, Beyond that, neighbors chose not to work together to help make their street more hospitable to travel and for mail and other deliveries.And, there still were numerous vehicles mired in the snow-turned-to-ice that fell weeks ago. The attitude seemed to be that the snow and ice eventually would melt. In the meantime, there seemed to be no sense of urgency toward making the situation easier for city road crews to address.Basically, the situation this year has been a repeat of the laziness that has been evident during prior winters.Butler's predominantly narrow neighborhood streets — and even many of the main travel routes — pose a challenge that some other communities don't face. But many residents choose to ignore that fact — preferring to allow the winter conditions to be as difficult as possible, dumping most of the cleanup responsibility on Mother Nature.That wasn't the right attitude in the past, and it isn't the right attitude now.