BASA sale supported by township commissioners
BUTLER TWP — With four yes votes and one abstaining, township commissioners Monday passed a support resolution to sell the Butler Area Sewer Authority to Pennsylvania American Water Company.
Pennsylvania American issued a statement when the authority board approved the sale last week, which said overall feedback received from residents, local business owners and other organizations living and operating businesses within Butler city and Butler Township limits has been positive and supportive of the sale.
The sale will now move to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission for approval.
Dave Zarnick, Butler Township commissioners president, said at the meeting Monday that there will likely be no further discussion on the sale, due to the review by the utilities commission.
“It’s got a long PUC process to go,” Zarnick said. “It will be six to nine months.”
Township solicitor Rebecca Black also read a statement on behalf of the commissioners. The statement said that after the officials considered information on BASA and the water company, along with opinions from residents affected, they voted in the best interest of the township and the customers.
The members of BASA also commented on the sale.
“Since the beginning of this process, our board prioritized the needs of our employees and customers,” Paul Sybert, authority board chairman, said in the statement. “Without BASA’s dedicated and hardworking employees, this facility would not run. They, and our customers, always remained at the forefront of our minds.”
The statement said the water company will work to see that the transaction closes by the end of 2023.
The commissioners also approved land development requests for a Top Tier Federal Credit Union, formerly known as Clarion Federal Credit Union, at 270 New Castle Road, across from the entrance to Butler Senior High School, and a plan by UPMC Hillman Cancer Center on Technology Drive to install an addition for a new linear accelerator facility.
The Butler Township Planning Commission recommended approval for the plans at its Oct. 4 meeting.
According to the credit union’s plan, the building will be about 2,500 square feet, and the project will install a new driveway at the intersection at the traffic light by the high school. The project also will involve the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, which will install new signs along the road informing people about the updated traffic at 270 New Castle Road.
The addition to the cancer center will add about 2,000 square feet to the existing building, cutting into some of the facility’s parking lot. A linear accelerator is a device used for external beam radiation treatments for patients with cancer.
The commissioners also recognized the elementary school students who were chosen as the winners of the township’s annual fire safety poster contest.
The winners were Blaine Farnworth, a kindergarten student at Connoquenessing Elementary; Zaydenn Allday, a first-grade student at Connoquenessing; Avery Kaechele, a second-grade student at Northwest Elementary; Collins Kramer, a third-grade student at Connoquenessing; Reid Cuny, a fourth-grade student at Northwest; and Paige Singer, a fifth-grade student at McQuistion Elementary.
Each child received a trophy, and their posters were displayed in the township municipal building.
Scott Frederick, the township’s director of emergency services, also said he would deliver the traveling trophy Tuesday to Northwest Elementary. The school had the most entries this year, with seven posters.
