Peters Township Council accepts $2 million state grant toward aquatic center
Harry Funk/The Almanac
State Rep. Natalie Mihalek, R-Peters Township, signs the ceremonial check as her daughter, Petra, watches.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
The amount of the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant is written first.
When someone arrives with a blank check and fills it out for $2 million, the prudent course of action is to accept it.
Actually, the over sized document state Rep. Natalie Mihalek brought to Monday’s Peters Township Council meeting purely was ceremonial, and the money would be forthcoming in the form of reimbursement.
But after deliberating to some degree the previous week, council members voted unanimously to accept a grant for that amount through the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, with the funds going toward construction of a long-discussed aquatic center at the under-construction Rolling Hills Park.
The grant was announced Dec. 6, and council had a 30-day window during which to take action.
One issue was whether a vote should occur Jan. 3, when three new members will join the seven-member council. Also, a timetable for calling “a maximum of six months to meet the terms and special conditions of the grant agreement and begin construction of the project” raised questions about the viability of complying.
Now that council has approved it, the grant represents 20% of the estimated $10 million cost of the aquatic center.
“It’s not cheap, and we don’t want to put the community in a precarious situation,” said Mihalek, a Republican who lives in the township. “And that’s why, through the leadership over here, there were ways to look for some money that was out there through the state.”
Her reference was to the efforts of Paul Lauer, township manager, and Ryan Jeroski, assistant township manager.
“The fact of the matter is, Natalie undersells her role in this. If you know anything about the RACP program, it takes your representative advocating for the township. And my experience with Natalie is that she does this all the time,” Lauer said. “She not only responds to requests for assistance, she initiates, offers to help, when she sees that there is a problem out there that perhaps the state could help us with.”
In fact, Lauer noted Mihalek’s efforts helped bring in an additional $700,000 in state money, for construction of Rolling Hills Drive, the street that accesses the new Peters Township High School, and an extension from Arrowhead Trail into the park.
Council acknowledged Mihale’s support by presenting her with a proclamation of appreciation.
Regarding the status of the aquatic center, council in May rejected all bids for the center when the lowest came in at $11.482 million. Specifications since have been revised.
Council’s votes on the center generally have been split, with four in favor of proceeding with its construction and three against. Two of the proponents, David Ball and James Berquist, are off council as of Dec. 31, as is opponent Monica Merrell.
Taking their place are new members Allison Shanafelt, Matt Rost and Tom Pirosko.