ALLENTOWN – Roberts Engineering Group, Hamilton Township, which serves as the borough engineer for Allentown, has been awarded two contracts by the Borough Council to oversee a pair of municipal improvement projects.
On Aug. 14, council members voted 6-0 to award the firm a contract for engineering construction administration for Allentown’s water tank improvement project and a contract for engineering construction administration for the borough’s water meter replacement project.
The contract for services related to the water tank improvement project may not exceed $50,000 and the contract for services related to the water meter replacement project may not exceed $40,000, according to resolutions passed by the council.
The contracts for Roberts Engineering Group were awarded as professional services without competitive bidding in accordance with the state Local Public Contracts Law, according to the resolutions.
Allentown’s contracts with the engineering firm are available for review by members of the public in the municipal clerk’s office at Borough Hall.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, Tom Monahan, who is running for a seat on the council in the Nov. 6 election, asked for an update on the borough’s parking situation. He said, “We have people who want to come here, but no parking.”
Council President Thomas Fritts responded, saying, “Do you have a solution other than bonding?”
Officials have discussed the possibility of constructing a parking lot off Main Street, but concluded that the cost of pursuing the plan may prove to be prohibitive for a facility that may only provide 20 parking spaces.
Fritts told Monahan officials are seeking grants for a Main Street parking lot and added, “We are about 140 parking spaces short based on a parking study. We are just as frustrated as you.”
He said parking options in several areas of the borough, not just on Main Street, are being examined.
Councilman Robert Strovinsky said a 20-space parking lot off Main Street “is not feasible unless we get a grant.”
Regarding the suggestion that parking meters could be installed to produce revenue for Allentown, Strovinsky said, “I’m not sure people and meters are going to get along well.”
And, Michael Drennan, who is also running for a seat on the council, asked for an update on municipal officials’ plan to construct a new waste water treatment plant.
Fritts told Drennan, “We are working on various aspects of the process. We feel confident we are on a path that will see the project through to completion.”
Mayor Greg Westfall said officials are working with the borough engineer on a design for the new treatment plant.