Supervisors Review Lower Providence Projects and Grants ‘Wish List’

The Lower Providence Board of Supervisors discussed the township's preliminary project and grant priority list at the Sept.6 supervisors’ business meeting.

According to Richard Gestrich, Lower Providence township manager, The Ferguson Group and Novak Strategic Advisors have been appointed the township’s federal and state lobbyists. As such, the consultants will be tasked in pursuing the board of supervisors-approved list of grants and projects.

Gestrich provided a brief synopsis of the 11 projects, adding that the list was presented in no particular ranking order and was assigned approximate monetary values.

He said the list was created by utilizing prior years' previous projects and grant applications, as well as interviewing individual board members and township department heads.

[Please see .PDFs of the preliminary priority list in the media section of this article for full details.]

An abridged version of the list, with brief descriptions, follows:

• Moyer Landfill Superfund Site – The site could be reused as either a “brightfield” solar energy generation project and/or a public recreation space connected to Evansburg State Park and Skippack Creek.

• Trooper Road Improvements Project, Phase II – Phase I of this project has been fully funded and would improve the intersection of Audubon and Trooper, as well as the construction of East nad West bound ramps on 422. Phase II would cost $115 million, and would replace the 422 bridge over the Schuylkill and the consttructino of a fly-over off ramp from Route 422 eastbound to Route 23. Phase I expected to begin Spring 2013.

• Commodore Brownfield Superfund Site – the old Commodore Business Machines. Inc facility, its 14-acres and nearby residential wells, and soil, has been found with the waste solvent TCE (trichloroethylene) and TCE-related compounds. The project would help the owner demolish remaining building shell and excavate core pollutants.

• Second Collegeville Bridge Project - $21 – 33 million construction project for new second bridge to the south of current Ridge Pike bridge over Perkiomen Creek and realignment of Ridge and Germantown Pikes.

• Ridge Pike Revitalization Project - $600,000 for a corridor study for improvements to enhance overall walking commute for residents along Ridge Pike, as well as safety, and beautification of the streetscape (for more on this story, )

• Police Hiring Project - $200,000 for salaries and expenses associated with hiring two or three full-time police officers.

• Adams Avenue Connector - The Adams Avenue Connector would tie a major roadway internal to the Park Pointe Business Park to a state road, Egypt Road and improve traffic flow and circulation within the Business Park and surrounding areas. Entire project is estimated to cost $6,710,000.

• Norris Hall Connector - $3.8 million for design, engineering and construction of Phase I of the Norris Hall Road Extension Project.

• Community Transit Shelters - $239,000 for nine bus shelters, as well as intersection safety and accessibility improvements.

• Library Improvements – 1) Expansion for quiet areas and meeting rooms, with and estimated cost of $550,000. 2) Upgrade library lighting (for uniformity) 3)Geothermal heating system upgrade 4) Replace seven computers for public and staff.

• CNG Fleet Conversion Project – Modify 36 township trucks and cars and refurbish vacant filling station as a CNG (compressed natural gas) fueling station for alternative fueling

The list also includes a legislative request for Buffer Zone Improvements to reclassify PJM Interconnect as a critical infrastructure site with Homeland Security.

Members of the board of supervisors shared thoughts about the list.

Richard Brown, board of supervisors chairman, said that the list's priorities should reflect projects that would most likely succeed in receiving funds.

“If we’re looking to prioritize, I’d like to suggest that we focus on the four items that would potentially impact traffic,” Jason Sorgini, said after the list was presented.

The four projects he referred to were the Trooper Road Improvements, Phase II; Collegeville Bridge Project; Adams Avenue Connector; and Norris Hall Connector.

“I view transportation as critical to the further development of Lower Providence,” Sorgini said. “I think anything we can do to make those four projects actually come to fruition would benefit everyone.”

Fellow board member Colleen Eckman responded that the township might be better served if certain traffic projects, such as the Adams Avenue and Norris Hall connector projects, were funded through another source besides township-pursued grants.

“I don’t know if the township should be seeking money for that, when maybe a new hotel or something large is going in, and that should be the developer’s responsibility.”   

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