Friday, April 25, 2003
Both new boards will organize Wednesday.
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Newly formed municipal and redevelopment authorities will give municipalities more clout in applying for state and federal grants, said Jim Gagliano, Lawrence County planning director.
The redevelopment authority and municipal authority will meet at 1 and 2 p.m., respectively, Wednesday for their organizational meetings. The meetings will be in the county commissioners' meeting room at the courthouse.
Each panel has five members and the terms will be staggered from one to five years so there will always be experienced members, he said. Both panels are made up of county residents.
On the panels
Members of the municipal authority are: John Razaano, Edmund Retort, Jerry Senchak, Jon Natale and Joseph Caminiti.
Members of the redevelopment authority are Dennis Alduk, Frank Telesz, Pat Aromando, Jon Natale and Joseph Caminiti.
Gagliano said the municipal authority will function similar to individual authorities such as a sewer authority, for example, but its scope will not be limited to one type of project.
If a municipality wants to create an industrial park, for example, the municipal authority can work on the municipality's behalf to find funding, he said.
Gagliano said the purpose of the redevelopment authority is to look at developed land that can be reclaimed for a new purpose, rather than building on undeveloped land. There are a lot of potential sites that could be reclaimed in the county, he said.
During Wednesday's meetings, he said, the members of the municipal and redevelopment authorities will lay the foundation for their panels, with such rudimentary actions as deciding how often to meet and discussing bylaws.