State College Borough Council will vote tonight on whether to approve nearly $3 million for funding various community improvement projects that will be part of the borough's 2004 operating budget.
Council has made final revisions to its Capital Improvements Program (CIP) which allocates funds from local taxes and other public revenue for projects including street repair, construction and renovation of public buildings, parking facilities and more. The five-year plan was discussed and revised during the last few months.
The largest amount of money, roughly $1.3 million, will go to street repair in 2004, and the total needed for repair through 2008 is projected to reach about $8.4 million.
Although council will vote on the CIP today, allocations will not be final until it votes on the 2004 operating budget in December.
Council member Tom Daubert said council is in agreement and ready to implement the CIP. The only point of contention left to deal with is funding for the renovation of the State Theatre, 128 W. College Ave., he said.
Mike Negra, president of State Theatre Inc., the non-profit organization spearheading the project, has asked council for $300,000 over the next three years. However, Daubert said council has halved that amount to $50,000 annually for three years.
Daubert said there is not strong opposition to the State Theatre project itself, but some citizens are wary of spending too much tax money on it. He said State College residents will have a chance to speak their minds at the beginning of December during a public hearing on the operating budget.
"We want to hear from the citizens before we decide on that," Daubert said, adding that the dollar amounts can be changed before council votes on the budget later in December.
The plan also calls for $775,000 a year over four years starting in 2005 for a new parking garage in State College. Carl Hess, planning director, said the location of the garage cannot be announced because council is still conducting closed executive sessions to discuss proposals for acquiring the necessary land.
Daubert said council is close to a decision but has to keep the tentative plan a secret for now.
"While you're in the negotiation stage, you have to keep that quiet," he said. "Otherwise, the price doubles."
If the plan goes through as-is, the borough would also spend roughly $300,000 to maintain the Pugh Street and Fraser Street garages over the next two years.
Nearly $500,000 would go to acquiring land on the 100 block of South Allen Street for the new Schlow Memorial Library project as well, Assistant Borough Manager Ron Davis said.
Businesses in the 100 block of South Allen Street will likely have to relocate by the end of this year, Davis said. Those stores are T&M Unlimited Tailoring, 223 S. Allen St., Totally Twisted Pretzels, 225 S. Allen St., Goodwill Industries, 221 S. Allen St. and Jim's Army & Navy Surplus Store, 227 S. Allen St., Davis added.
From 2004 to 2008, the CIP would fund these and many other projects totaling around $19.5 million. However, Davis said the amounts for years after 2004 are merely projections and are not set in stone. Changes can be made as needed, he said.
