GAP resurfacing bid awarded
More work is being done to make improvements along the Great Allegheny Passage this fall.
At Tuesday's Somerset County Commissioners meeting, a contract was awarded to Adam Eidemiller, Greensburg, for the bid of $127,400 or 49 cents per square foot, for resurfacing from the Flaugherty Creek bridge to the train station in Meyersdale. The bids were opened Nov. 1 and Eidemiller's was the lower of two bids received.
The project will take two weeks starting within the next week, said Lindsay Baer, Parks and Trails director. It should be done by the end of November. Baer said that part of the trail won't be shut down during this work, but it will have heavy truck traffic.
More:Section of GAP closed during bridge work
The 9 miles from Markelton to Harnedsville section of the GAP has been officially shut down for three bridges to have work done on them. The project was awarded to CriLon Corp. with the low bid of $2,438,960.46 at a previous commissioners meeting. The contractor received a waterway permit from the Department of Environmental Protection to allow work to be done over the Casselman River.
The contractor plans to demolish the bridges all at once and replace them with pre-formed concrete. Depending on the weather, Baer said she is hoping to have the bridges done and the trail section reopened within two months.
In other action, the commissioners approved a resolution requiring the waiver of additional charges for the late payment of real estate taxes under Act 57 of 2022. Additional charges means any interest, fee, penalty or charge accruing to and in excess of the face amount of the real estate taxes. Act 57 amended the local tax collection law to require tax collectors to waive additional charges for the late payment of real estate taxes under specified circumstances. The Act was signed into law on July 11, became effective 90 days after and it requires that each taxing district adopt an ordinance or resolution implementing its provisions within 90 days of the the date.
More:Taking it to court: Somerset County Commissioners vs Treasurer, an exclusive
In a public comment portion of the commissioners meeting, George Critchfield of Critchfield Lumber voiced his concern that the commissioners are not doing the job the constituents elected them to do by not selecting the best investment options.
At an October commissioners meeting, they decided to split $20 million received through the American Rescue Plan between First National Bank and Somerset Trust Co., putting $10 million in First National in a 90-day CD generating 3.82% and $10 million in Somerset Trust Co. in a 60-day CD at 3.36%. Somerset County Treasurer Tony DeLuca questioned the action because he said First National Bank had a higher interest rate at 3.4% for the 60-day CD. He pointed out the county will lose $25,000 in interest by going with the lower rate.
Critchfield said Somerset needs manufacturing jobs and higher wages for employees, not childlike arguing between the commissioners and the treasurer.
"It's about getting together to work for the constituents, investing the money wisely. Agree to disagree," he said.
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This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Somerset County Commissioners award GAP resurfacing project contract
