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Factoryville council approves $12,781 reimbursement to Clinton Township as trail costs top earlier estimates
Summary
Factoryville Borough heard a higher-than-expected trail cost update and voted unanimously to reimburse Clinton Township $12,781.22 for engineering; council heard that grant reimbursements and project bidding should limit further out-of-pocket costs.
Zach Smith of Atlas told the Factoryville Borough Council on Feb. 11 that the local trail project has incurred $139,752.14 in costs to date, far above an earlier $66,000 estimate, and attributed the increase to floodplain redesigns and a change in the trail alignment.
The report, delivered during the council's regular meeting at Borough Hall, said permitting and engineering are complete for a major section but that a DCNR-controlled segment still requires work. Smith said the DCNR grant covers costs from July 2025 through project completion and that eligible reimbursement submitted to date is roughly $79,271. He estimated the borough’s actual out-of-pocket cost at about $75,000 and said total recoup could approach $99,000 if the 20% DCNR match applies to the full project, but he said that has not been confirmed.
The council voted unanimously to reimburse Clinton Township $12,781.22 for trail engineering costs after Borough Assistant Rebecca Nelson requested the payment. The motion was made by G. Yunko and seconded by C. Truitt. No members opposed.
Smith told the council the project will be bid to lock construction costs; if bids exceed grant funds, the scope could be reduced (for example by shrinking ADA parking at Creek Road) to remain within funding limits. He also said he does not expect additional out-of-pocket expenses from July 1, 2025, through project completion but noted remaining uncertainty about how the DCNR match will be applied.
The council’s action on reimbursement follows routine bill approvals that included the engineering payment. Council members signaled preference for continuing to rely on grant reimbursement and bid-based cost controls rather than adding new borough-funded commitments at this stage.
The council did not set a new vote or deadline tied to the unresolved DCNR-match question; follow-up was implied as further grant accounting and bid results become available.
