Mifflin County commissioners approve $300,000 short-term loan, grant ratification and several routine contracts

MIFFLIN COUNTY, Pa. — The Mifflin County Board of Commissioners on a unanimous voice vote approved a short-term, interest-free $300,000 loan to the Burnham Borough Authority, ratified a modification to an indigent defense grant that adds year three funding of $418,403, and approved a series of other routine contracts and payments during the board’s regular meeting.

The loan to Burnham Borough Authority was described by Planning Director Jim Kerr as short-term “gap financing” to support headworks improvements at the borough’s wastewater treatment plant. Kerr said the authority previously received a $1,500,000 grant from the Commonwealth Financing Authority and plans to apply for a PENNVEST loan of about $6,000,000; total estimated construction costs for the project were stated as roughly $7,000,000. Kerr said the county’s $300,000 loan originates from the county improvement program, funded with American Rescue Plan Act money.

The commission also ratified a project modification request for the county’s indigent defense grant, adding a third year of funding of $418,403 to help furnish a…