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In her report to the Lycoming Water and Sewer Authority (LCWSA), Olivia Lopatofsky, project engineer for the authority, told the board they were not chosen to receive the Pennsylvania Strategic Investments to Enhance Sites (PA Sites) program grant that the authority had sought on behalf of developers of the former Lycoming Mall.
Famvest, the current owners and developers of the properties, along with LCWSA and Triad Solutions had submitted the grant application that, in part, would have been used to fund the replacement and
upgrades of water and sewer infrastructure at the site, now known as "The District at Lycoming Valley."
They were seeking a total of $3.7 million with a match from Famvest of $1.65 million for the project. The funds would have been used for demolishing existing water and sewer infrastructure and installing new, as well as engineering for the project.
PA Sites requires that a municipality or an authority be the applicant. The preliminary application for the grant was submitted last month and was reviewed by the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED).
"They said there were lots of applications," Lopatofsky said.
The authority is continuing to discuss proposed water and sewer infrastructure plans for the redevelopment of the former mall with Famvest, she said.
In other business, the authority approved the Act 13 impact fee outfall project funding agreement with Lycoming County.
Last month, the county's commissioners agreed to award Act 13 funding to support the Montoursville Regional Sewer System outfall project. The county will make a capital contribution through Act 13 funds in the amount of $200,000 per year for five years for a total of $1 million.
"As you know, the outfall line was to be relocated. We've determined that it's best suited in its current location, so that means that we need to secure a permanent federal easement for the outfall line in its current location," said Christine Weigle, LCWSA's executive director.
"As the lowest cost solution, it is a critical and time-sensitive project and the county, having been a partner of ours since the beginning of the Montoursville Regional Sewer system, recognizes the value in supporting us. They also guarantee our debt, so although we're not a department of the county...we're afforded a beneficial relationship with them in that they guarantee our debt," she said.
She added that the county's support will help the authority "maintain competitive rates" while "trying to obviously grow this service area."