College to expand

By MARY GRZEBIENIAK

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

NEW CASTLE, Pa. — The Butler County Community College, which has broken ground for a campus in Union Township, has purchased 15 additional acres.

Union Township supervisors also said at their Thursday meeting that the college plans to grant four-year degrees sooner than originally planned because of the area’s demographics.

“[They] have already gone to expansion mode,” Supervisor Chairman Clair Damon said.

Supervisors and Secretary/Treasurer Sally Byler learned of the expansion when they met Wednesday with Leo Golba, a Union Township native who owns the property and is developing it for the college.

The property is near the intersection of U.S. Route 224 and West Washington Street. The additional acreage is along Route 224. Plans call for construction of three main buildings. Classes are set to begin in June.

Supervisors said they do not expect the project to be hampered by the recent announcement by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection that no new connections can be made to the area served by the New Castle Sanitation Authority.

This means no building permits can be issued in the township until the ban is lifted. Byler said, however, that Golba told township officials he has talked to Richard Christofer, director of the authority, and he expects that connections will be allowed by the end of February.

Supervisors announced that Golba allowed the township to take a 24-by-40-foot pavilion from the property where the community college is being built. The pavilion was moved near the restrooms at Scotland Meadows Park, where it will be available for rental this summer. Cost was about $2,000.

Supervisors also lauded longtime Supervisor Kevin Guinaugh, whose term expires at the end of the month. Guinaugh, 84, has been supervisor for 18 years and township roadmaster for 16 of those. Guinaugh will be succeeded by Robert Eckert, who was elected in November.

The township’s reorganization meeting is set for 6 p.m. Jan. 7.