Luzerne County is trying a new approach to secure funding for county-owned road repairs.
The administration wants to use federal Community Development Block Grant funds to pave part of Honey Hole Road in Dennison Township, but that area is not in the federal government’s map of qualifying low- to moderate-income zones, said county Operational Services Division Head Michele Sparich.
Government entities may use the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s income information, which is largely based on census data, or “local income survey data that is methodologically sound,” its site said.
Instead of accepting the map as is, the county administration is pursuing the alternate method of proactively gathering its own income information from residents that could convince the federal government the location is eligible, Sparich said.
County workers will be visiting properties along part of the roadway next week to survey residents, she said.
While extra work is involved, Sparich said the effort is worthwhile because the administration is optimistic the area will meet the threshold to secure road funding.
“If we can use the community development allocation for an eligible project, we would like to do that,” Sparich said.
Grants and other outside awards reduce reliance on the county’s general fund operating budget to pay for infrastructure needs, she said.
“We’re trying to do more with less,” Sparich said.
According to Sparich:
County workers in two groups of three will be performing the survey from Aug. 24 through Aug. 28.
The workers will wear fluorescent vests and carry county identification badges. They will collect the data on computer tablets and do not have to enter residences.
Resident responses will remain confidential.
Survey information will be left at residences where nobody responds.
Postcards will also be mailed to property owners with a QR code that can be scanned to complete the survey online.
Paper copies of the survey will be available at the Dennison Township municipal building, which is open from 10 a.m. to noon on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month.
Residents should submit survey responses by mid-September because the county has to complete its application for the funding in October, she said.
If the survey data meet requirements, up to three more miles of the roadway could be funded, said county Operational Services Project Management Director Nick Vough.
Multiple project phases will be necessary for Honey Hole Road because it is eight miles long and also passes through Butler Township, Vough said.
A one-mile stretch is already qualified for community development funding, Vough said. That $662,000 project, which includes road and related stormwater improvements, was recently awarded to Pennsy Supply.
Sparich expects future similar surveys in other locations if the county can demonstrate the method yields results.
As it stands, Sparich said there are “very few pockets” in eligible federal zones that also contain county roadways.
The county has approximately 120 miles of roads and 300 bridges and culverts scattered within its boundaries, many of which were inherited from municipalities during the Great Depression.
County Manager Romilda Crocamo said Monday county infrastructure “has gone underfunded for too long,” and the county is committed to exploring every viable option “without placing an undue burden on our taxpayers.”
“We will leave no stone unturned in this effort. The condition of our roads affects every resident, every business, and every first responder in this county, and finding sustainable funding for these repairs remains a top priority for this administration,” Crocamo said.