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Girard, Edinburgh mayors and managers push county on Act 13 Greenways grants; ordinance introduced for distribution
Summary
Mayor and borough staff represented Girard and Edinburgh to ask the council about Greenways grant awards that have not been announced; council later received a first reading of an ordinance to appropriate $601,724 for Act 13 Greenways grant distribution.
Officials from two small boroughs said Sept. 9 they applied last year for Act 13 Greenways funding but have not received a decision and asked the county for clarity on status and timing.
“I'm Peter Burton. I'm the mayor of Girard Borough,” Burton told the council. He described a roughly $250,000 Greenway streetscape and park project near U.S. 20 and Rice Avenue that the borough has nearly completed and said it includes trees and a welcome sign. “We applied for it a year ago, and we haven't really heard anything since,” Burton said.
Brenda Kannel, who identified herself as interim borough manager of Edinburgh, said her borough applied “over a year ago for the bathhouse at Edinburgh Lake,” requesting “not even $40,000 to refurbish it and make it so it's real respectable.” She said the lake is a major community asset and the bathhouse project reflects the borough’s character.
Later in the meeting the council took up the county planning fund’s first reading of ordinance number 41-2025, a supplemental appropriation of $601,724 for Act 13 Greenways grant distribution. The transcript records the ordinance’s first reading but shows no final vote on that appropriation on Sept. 9.
Why this matters: multiple small municipalities told the council they submitted Greenways applications last year and need clarity about award timing because they are budgeting and advancing construction. The council’s first reading of ordinance 41-2025 signals the county is pursuing an Act 13 distribution but, as of Sept. 9, no final appropriation was approved in council that would release funds.
Council members and staff did not provide a timeline for disbursement in the public record at the meeting. Borough leaders said they may need to pursue other local financing—Peter Burton mentioned Penvest—if county grant awards do not move forward. The ordinance remains at first reading pending any further committee work, amendments or a vote.
