At an agenda preparation meeting last night, Indiana Borough Council reviewed a Power Point presentation by Planning & Zoning officials Stephanie Walters and Nicholas Zimny-Shea, featuring projects planned for this summer:
- Work will continue on “Inhabit Indiana”, a closing costs assistance program for first-time home buyers that was launched in February. The program is a public-private partnership of the borough, ICCAP, six local banks, businesses with real estate interests, and employers. Future plans for the program will include a repair and renovations component, and expanded financial assistance for homeowners.
- The borough will continue to pursue a “SolSmart” designation from the U.S. Department of Energy, which would help the borough acquire future funding for solar energy projects.
- Borough staff are working to update the Borough Code to include recently-passed ordinances, and to update the Indiana Borough Emergency Operations Plan.
- The borough will begin smoke-testing and camera work of the stormwater systems to satisfy a DEP-ordered Corrective Action Plan. White Township is doing the same thing.
- And the Power Point presentation included the 8th Street parking lot, which will be repaved and re-striped this summer, with installation of a rain garden and possibly an electric vehicle charger, coinciding with the Hoodlebug Trail extension.
Also last night, Indiana Mayor George Hood questioned when the “bump” will be corrected at the Oakland Avenue railroad crossing, and was told it would be fixed this summer.
