CLEARFIELD – Clearfield Borough will move forward with a boat launch project at Lower Witmer Park.
The decision came in a 4-2 vote at the regular meeting of Clearfield Borough Council Thursday night.
The borough received $45,000 from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources in April for the construction of a boat launch at Lower Witmer Park for the West Branch of the Susquehanna River.
Discussion arose in the past few weeks regarding whether the money could be used to construct a launch in a different area.
The council held an executive session during the committee meetings last week to discuss the possibility of acquiring land on the west side of the river. The council could have made a decision to wait while it was determined whether grant money was able to be shifted to another project. The borough has been hearing conflicting reports from different agencies regarding the transferability of the launch funds.
Susan Reed and Larry Mack cast the only votes against moving ahead with the project at Lower Witmer Park.
“I think we owe it to the community to explore all options,” she remarked prior to the vote.
Rodger Baumgardner, Joan McMillen, Barry Reddinger and Jim Leitzinger all voted in favor of moving forward with the project.
Councilman Mike Errigo was not present at the time of the vote but arrived later due to the Clearfield County Emergency Management Agency preparedness drill. Councilman John Naddeo was absent.
Errigo sits on the Planning and Community Development Committee and last week voted against recommending the project to the full council. McMillen, Mack and Baumgardner also comprise the committee and voted in favor of recommending proceeding with the single launch at Lower Witmer to the council.
After the vote was taken, Clearfield Borough Mayor Patty Gilliland expressed her displeasure with the action.
“I am very disappointed in council,” she said. “I don’t think what you did was in the best interest of this community.”
Following the meeting, McMllen said she saw bigger things for the now-privately-owned parcel across the river from the park.
“I feel that the west side of the river needs to remain on the tax roles.”
She said that with all of the construction happening in Clearfield Borough now (BioEnergy and Rite-Aid), perhaps a private developer would buy the land and provide the borough with a 20-foot easement. Then, she said, the second launch could be placed on the parcel.