43
Mahoning Twp. officials plan trip to Harrisburg, Pa.
The supervisors and others have supported the proposed racetrack.
HILLSVILLE, Pa. — Mahoning Township supervisors will travel to Harrisburg on Thursday for a meeting where a decision may be announced on a casino slots license for the proposed Valley View Downs facility here.
Supervisor Gary Pezzuolo said after the supervisors’ regular meeting Tuesday that they have been informed the licensing is on the agenda for the 11 a.m. meeting of the Pennsylvania State Gaming Board.
He said that he and Supervisors Poncho Exposito and Vito Yeropoli are going to voice support for the licensing and inform the board that a great deal of potential funding for the township is tied to the licensure.
The gaming board had a hearing May 15 at the Mahoning Township Community Center on whether to grant the license to operate 3,000 slot machines at the harness racing track, which will be located near the intersection of U.S. Route 422 and Pa. Route 551.
Three hundred people attended the hearing with all those testifying voicing support for the project. The board said it needed to conduct a thorough investigation of Valley View Downs developer Centaur Inc. of Indiana before making a decision.
Supervisors have supported development of the racetrack since plans were announced. Approval of the slots license will assure millions of dollars in loans for extension of sanitary sewer lines and construction of a sewage treatment plant that will serve the racetrack as well as residential areas.
In related business, supervisors instituted a $200 fee with an annual $50 renewal for contractors who work in the township. It would cover building, heating ventilation and air conditioning, plumbing, electrical and road contractors.
Supervisors had intended to impose a $500 fee with a $100 annual renewal but dropped the amounts after several local residents and contractors objected that it would discourage contractors from doing work in the township and drive up the cost to residents.
But Pezzuolo said the township needs the fee to keep track of the expected influx of contractors to the township for building projects related to the racetrack. It also needs to make sure that those working for the contractors pay the 1 percent wage tax.
The fees would be used to pursue payment of the tax from contractors who try to evade it.
The supervisors also handled these matters:
UAccepted a proposal from First Commonwealth for a $15 million loan for interim financing for the upcoming sanitary sewer project. First Commonwealth submitted the best proposal, they said, with a variable rate of 3.5 percent currently with a 5.5 percent cap or a 4.32 percent fixed rate. The money may not need to be borrowed but supervisors said they want to be ready if the casino slots license is approved to immediately proceed with construction of sanitary sewer lines. A PennVest loan of $11 million and state Act 108 financing of $7 million is virtually assured if the slots license is approved, but the township might need the loan to provide cash until the other financing comes through.
UImposed a $25 transient merchant license for peddlers and solicitors. The license is valid for one month and those not complying can be fined under the ordinance.
UReceived notification from Pennsylvania Department of Transportation that as the result of a traffic survey of Pa. Route 551 from Pa. Route 208 to U.S. Route 224, the speed limit will be reduced from 55 to 50 mph on the portion from Route 208 to U.S. Route 422.