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City contractor urges governor to add millions for levee

A city contractor is trying to convince Gov. Tom Wolf to add $250 million in fiscal budget 2019 and 2020 to help fund a competitive grant program that could assist in the levee recertification and other flood control projects.

In 2008, the Pennsylvania General Assembly established the H20 PA Act, which authorizes multi-year grants of up to $20 million for “the construction, improvement, repair, or rehabilitation of all or part of a flood control system,” said Jason Fitzgerald, president of Penn Strategies, the city economic development consultant.

Fitzgerald filled in the council public works committee Tuesday about the request.

Such projects can include “levees, concrete channels, flood walls, detention dams, non-structural measures, or any combination of these project types” and “repairs or rehabilitation of an existing flood protection project are eligible.”

“The problem is that this program is not funded,” Fitzgerald said.

If funded, this program could fill a critical funding gap for the next phases of the levee project.

Costs to repair the levee are placed at $16 million and upward if done in the next five years.

The levee protects more than 6,225 properties including houses, industries and institutional buildings, he said.

The estimated value of the properties is between $1 billion-plus.

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