20080520 Westminster focuses on Pennsylvania Avenue project

Westminster focuses on Pennsylvania Avenue project

By Bryan Schutt, Times Staff Writer

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Another $50,000 is needed to start a streetscape project on Pennsylvania Avenue, even after Westminster signed an agreement with the state Monday for $175,000 in grant money, according to the city’s mayor.

The $50,000 would cover the engineering costs for the streetscape project, and City Administrator Marge Wolf said Westminster still isn’t sure where that money will come from, but it will be added to the fiscal year 2009 general fund budget, even though it isn’t currently included in the draft budget.

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Westminster Mayor Thomas Ferguson said the agreement he signed lays out where and how the money on the project will be spent.

The city was recently awarded the Community Legacy Grant of $175,000 for a three-part project that will realign the intersection of Union Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, rework the crosswalks on Pennsylvania Avenue and add curb bump-outs to the street to act as a traffic calming device.

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The initiative, which was last formed in 2002, will be used as a sounding board for the community to give feedback to city government. When the initiative was first established, it helped the city establish higher standards for rental properties on Pennsylvania Avenue, increase homeownership on Pennsylvania Avenue and helped create major lighting improvements in the area.

Common Council President Roy Chiavacci said he is being deliberate in determining the scope of the initiative and said the council is taking time up front in the process to make sure the initiative will be ambitious yet realistic and practical.

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