Union City Council approves $400,000 bridge grant application, accepts Renaissance award and authorizes fund transfers

Union City Borough Council on June 25 voted unanimously to approve a $400,000 grant application to the Multimodal Transportation Fund for a bridge replacement on Willow Street and approved several routine financial and project actions tied to 2024 paving and local grant programs.

Councilor Osborn moved to approve the $400,000 Multimodal Transportation Fund grant application for the Willow Street bridge replacement; Councilor Kerns seconded the motion, which the council adopted unanimously. The vote followed the Borough Manager’s presentation of project need and the Streets Supervisor’s report that 2024 paving work by Cross Paving and Suit-Kote is complete.

The action is part of a meeting in which the council also approved disbursement of Liquid Fuels funds to pay a Cross Paving invoice of $104,740.81, with $92,130.00 drawn from Liquid Fuels and $12,610.81 from the General Fund (motion by Councilor Steadman; second by Councilor Kerns). Council additionally approved applying $15,625 in County Aid toward the Suit-Kote seal-coat payment (motion by Councilor Joyce; second by Councilor Osborn). All motions on those items carried unanimously.

In other financial items, the council authorized opening a new PLGIT Checking & Prime account and transferring approximately $140,000 (the bulk of the Capital Equipment fund) to obtain a higher interest rate (motion by Councilor Kerns; second by Councilor Steadman). The meeting minutes record that UCVFD repaid its full ambulance loan of $59,250 and that the borough received an ECGRA Renaissance Grant in the amount of $100,000. Separately, council reviewed six Renaissance grant applications totaling $27,127.65 and approved four awards totaling $17,675, leaving $750.49 in this grant cycle; two applications totaling $9,452.65 will carry to the 2024–2025 period (motion by Councilor Joyce; second by Councilor Osborn).

Council approved the distribution and reuse plan for millings from the paving project, including authorizing 2–3 loads to the American Legion ballfield and previously approved delivery of a load to Evergreen Cemetery; Union Township will grind and track usage. The council also voted to post removed playground equipment from Southwest Park for sale on Municibid (motion by Councilor Kerns; second by Councilor Steadman).

Council discussed proposed amendments to the parking ordinance (including a front-end parking change in Municipal Lot No. 2) and Chief Pernice described that license-plate-reader equipment on hand can search plates and assist investigations; the council asked the Streets Supervisor to review lot layout. Council deferred zoning-ordinance amendments related to small games of chance and pools in vacant adjoining lots until the solicitor could attend.

Motions on all formal actions recorded in the meeting minutes passed unanimously. The meeting was called to order by Councilor Cross at 6:02 p.m. at First Global Methodist Church and adjourned at 7:21 p.m., followed by an executive session that ran to 8:17 p.m.