Harmony Borough Council voted at a virtual meeting Tuesday to conduct an environmental study, taking another step forward to beautify its downtown.

With a price tag of $2,600, the study will examine whether disturbing the curbs, sidewalks or streets of downtown Harmony will cause any environmental issues, such as disturbing an underground gas tank.

Harmony must complete the step to move forward with its one-third share of a $500,000 grant from the state's Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program. Split with Zelienople, funding is aimed at beautifying the main streets of both boroughs.

However, some council members voiced opposition to even discussing the matter because they did not see that as the point of the meeting.

“This is what I did not want to have if we were just going to have a meeting to discuss business that needs to be completed,” said Councilman Don Sims.

Sims opposed conducting the environmental study, and has similarly been against the borough's use of the grant in the past. Harmony must match the RACP grant dollar-for-dollar, and grant money will then be presented as a reimbursement by the state for work completed, rather than sent in advance.

“How are you going to afford the grant?” Sims asked. “You have to put the entire borough in debt.”

Council President Greg Such said any loan taken to advance the grant's work would likely be taken through the county infrastructure bank, which offers 10-year term loans at an interest rate of 1.5 percent.

The borough currently holds no debt, which is uncommon among municipalities in southern Butler County.

In other news

Other items on the agenda included ratifying actions taken by Mayor Cathy Rape during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Council ratified Rape's declaration of a municipal disaster emergency due to the pandemic. The move makes the borough eligible for state and federal disaster relief funds if and when they become available. The borough's declaration will end when the county's declaration expires.

In another ratification, the council voted to join the Cranberry Community Response Team, a volunteer group aimed to help those in need during the coronavirus crisis.

Harmony joined the county and numerous other municipalities in extending the at-face deadline for property tax payments, which is now Nov. 30, rather than the end of June. A 10 percent penalty will still be applied for late property tax payments.