4 county projects receive RACP funding
Ballistics testing, data center cooling systems and recreation site improvements are getting a boost in Butler County with a little help from the state government.
In total, four Butler County sites are set to receive $4.5 million of over $134 million from Pennsylvania’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program this year. The program aims to infuse money into projects that drive economic development.
According to Gov. Josh Shapiro, the investments are part of a broader statewide commitment of nearly $445 million supporting 356 projects across Pennsylvania intended to create jobs, improve infrastructure, strengthen public safety and drive long-term economic growth in communities across the commonwealth.
Mark Gordon, chief of planning and economic development for Butler County, said the county helps with the application process for the funds, as they are “highly competitive” with hundreds of projects around the state potentially worthy of financial assistance.
“We try to make sure municipalities know when they are available. We try to help them make strong applications to really demonstrate why these are worthy projects in this region and the return they give,” Gordon said.
For starters, $1.25 million will be going to the Iron Mountain location in Boyers. Gordon said the money will help Iron Mountain expand its geothermal cooling system with additional pumping infrastructure, including new lake pumps, heat exchangers and piping to improve efficiency.
“One of the things, if you really look, that has occurred in the past 10 years, there has been a significant commitment to infrastructure,” Gordon said. “Not just the traditional stuff like roads and bridges. We have done that work, but it also includes water, sewer, stormwater control and broadband.”
Gordon said he anticipates the $1.25 million will cover only a portion of the project.
State Rep Marci Mustello, R-11th, said the amount of jobs that will be created as a result of this project remains to be seen, but she is hopeful it will create them.
“It basically is improvement to the geothermal cooling system,” Mustello said. “It further improves the sustainability for data center activity. That is what they were asking for and what I was advocating for in Harrisburg.”
Sticking to data centers, Steamfitters Local 449 training facility in Harmony is due to receive $2 million in RAPC funding for the construction of a facility designed to train workers with the expertise needed to support data center cooling systems.
According to Ken Broadbent, business manager at Steamfitters Local 449, the organization is in the middle of planning to build a new 37,000-square-foot building next door to its 80,000-square-foot facility in Jackson Township.
“We will put equipment in the building similar to the equipment seen in data centers so we can teach people how to maintain this equipment so that we keep the cooling up, keep the electricity going and make sure the data centers run 24/7,” Broadbent said.
Total cost of the project is about $16 million. Broadbent is working with engineers to design the building, as well as working with equipment companies, making the decision as to what equipment will be used to train apprentices.
“We are excited the data centers are coming here,” Broadbent said. “We want to make sure not only are we building them properly, but that we maintain them properly. We are going to drastically increase the amount of apprentices we are bringing in because of this.”
Broadbent hopes to break ground on the building in September, with a completion date anticipated around the fall of 2027.
Greg Conn, president and CEO of Standard Bent Glass in East Butler, said his company is due to receive $1 million of RCAP funding to aid in the construction of a ballistics testing lab.
Conn said the company has already begun work on the lab, and the funds will help with that, among other projects.
“There is endless appetite for what we can do,” Conn said. “What I will say is that there are a number of things we are sprinting into. There are a couple things the government wants built by America, for America. The government has been clear. This money will keep a lot of that here. This is giving us a lot of leeway to go after what the government is saying they want.”
Standard Bent Glass manufacturers military-grade armor for vehicles used by the United States Army and police, as well as glass for those vehicles and glass for security architecture in buildings such as banks, embassies and schools.
Finished products need to be tested, Conn said. As of now, the company relies on third-party companies to complete that, which can be “crazy expensive.”
“This would help move that forward and get us to where we need to be,” Conn said. “There are other things we would like to use the money for to make things more efficient. We want to make our people as efficient as possible, too.”
Conn said the majority of police vehicles on the road in the United States have the same ballistic capabilities as everyday vehicles, which isn’t much. He is hopeful Standard Bent Glass will have a hand in changing that.
“I would rather have our police officers out there with a little more protection than that,” Conn said. “We are very much looking forward to leaning into that sort of work and get more people in the Butler area working here.”
The last Butler County project to receive RACP funding this year is the ongoing lake conservation project at the Evans City Reservoir, located off Lindsay Road in Jackson Township.
The project, which will receive $250,000, includes conducting a feasibility study of repairs to the dam on-site, permit procurements, demolishing of damaged reservoir structures and paving of entry and parking areas to improve access.
It also involves construction of an amphitheater near the land approaching the lake, a concession stand, restrooms, a storage facility and a trail system around the lake.
The project will provide use of a 19-acre lake for residents and visitors. The lake, along with a dam, lies on a 132-acre property Evans City voted to sell to Jackson Township in June, 2025, with the goal of turning it into a public park.
“(The project) will regionally provide an amenity that’s been lacking in recent years,” Jackson Township manager Chris Rearick said. “We hope to not only allow for fishing, but forms of boating as well.”
While Rearick is uncertain when the money will come in, the township is proceeding with permits and design work.
“We also intend to move forward in the meantime with trails, parking and so forth,” said Rearick.
Mustello said the application process for the RACP funding is highly competitive, and she is thrilled she was able to help bring some of those funds back home to Butler County.
“The one thing I have learned is you can’t let funding drive a project — you have to have the project drive the funding,” Mustello said. “If you have a worthwhile project, then you must advocate for it through this program. It's not an easy process, but it’s not impossible to do. Just make sure you have a project that is in the space of economic development because that is what this money is to be used for.”
