Oil City Council members were updated Thursday on the ongoing East Second Street construction project.
City water department director Jason Herman told council good progress is being made on putting in a new sewer line that is in all the way to near the Villa Italia restaurant.
New water and storm water lines are being finished up to Hickory Street, and the water line on Pine Street is scheduled to be connected today, Herman added.
The entire East Second project, which is expected to encompass all of this year’s construction season, involves replacing the road, sidewalks and water and sewer lines, as well as installing curb ramps that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act at every intersection along the street, from Wilson Avenue to Route 62, the area known as Buzzard’s Bend.
PennDOT offered to turn the road over to the city along with $2.5 million for the reconstruction of the road and curbs, and the city accepted the offer in 2021.
The city is now responsible for repair and maintenance.
In other business at Thursday’s council meeting, Elizabeth Suhr asked council about plans to repair the roof on City Hall.
Suhr said her father rents a space on the fourth floor but has been relocated due to leaks in the roof. She added that her father would like to continue as a tenant on the fourth floor.
City manager Mark Schroyer said the city has funds set aside to repair City Hall, including replacing the roof.
Schroyer said Skip Homan with Homan Specialty Roofing of Oil City gave him a proposal for replacing all the roofs on City Hall.
Council also voted to authorize submitting Oil City’s 2023 Community Development Block Grant application to the Department of Community and Economic Development.
A handout from the meeting indicates the city is expecting $311,136 in 2023 CDBG funding. The bulk of the money would go to street reconstruction.
The breakdown of the proposed street work shows:
- Oak Street from Seeley Avenue to the dead end and from Washington Avenue to Harriott Avenue at a cost of $137,000
- Hasson Avenue from Park Road to Deer Street at a cost of $42,500
- Mint Alley from Park Road to Hasson Avenue at a cost of $12,000
- Moran Street from West Front Street to West First Street at a cost of $60,000
Another $10,000 would be set aside for repairing public parking lots across the city, and the rest of the funding, $49,636, would go to grant administration.
Ashley Smith, the Be Here program manager at the Venango Area Chamber of Commerce, spoke to council regarding a $10,000 grant she is writing for the Community Heart and Soul Program.
She described the program’s goal as “involving everyone and focusing on what is most important” to the community by asking people what they love about their community and what they want the future to look like.
The grant would be focused on Oil City, Franklin and Cranberry, she said.
Council approved a resolution in support of the program, which she needed to complete the grant application.
