CURWENSVILLE – The Curwensville Borough Council reviewed the final figures for the Arnoldtown Project.
At Monday’s meeting, the Curwensville Borough Council gave a final report regarding the Arnoldtown Project. The report was made at the request of resident and former council member Mary Ellen Read.
At the Feb. 14 council meeting, Read had requested the final figures for the project. Read was not present at Monday’s meeting.
According to the report, In October of 2009, the Department of Environmental Protection was notified of a sewage issue in the Arnoldtown area of the borough.
From 2009 until the end of 2016, $69,671.92 was spent on engineering and legal fees. The Curwensville Borough and the Curwensville Municipal Authority could not come to an agreement, so the plan to connect the homes in Arnoldtown to the municipal sewer plant had to be abandoned.
The report said that due to pressure from DEP, Curwensville Borough had no choice but to pursue imminent domain and demolish the homes.
In preparation for the demolition project, the borough paid $5,358.50 in legal fees; $481.53 in engineering fees; $700 for appraisals and $399 in county fees for a total of $6,939.03.
On June 12, 2017, the council voted to proceed with the demolition of the homes in Arnoldtown and set a budget of $110,000 to purchase the homes and have them demolished.
According to the report, the three properties were purchased for $95,866.20, and demolition costs were $19,700, for a total of $115,566.20.
The entirety of the project was paid for by Curwensville Borough out of its general fund. Pennsafe then completed the final inspection of all properties on Jan. 19, 2019.
“This issue is now closed,” Council President Sara Curulla said. “The project is done.”
