ELLWOOD CITY — The lights have gone out on the construction of a new building for the borough-owned electric department.
Ellwood City Council voted 5-2 Thursday to cancel the construction of a 10,635-square-foot new building between Franklin Avenue and Park Avenue Extension next to the electric department's substation. Council members George Celli and Michele Lamenza voted against the motion.
The decision also impacts the construction of a new public works building on the site of the now-demolished former public works complex because some items, including vehicle storage, that would have been placed at the electric building will move. Council also agreed to extend the bidding for the public works building from next Tuesday to Feb. 27 to give engineers time to adapt schematics.
Council now will have to decide what it legally can do with the $2.1 million remaining from the bond issue taken out in late 2016 for the electric building project.
The project, which was approved a little more than a year ago, came under fire last month when new council members were sworn in and leadership of the council changed. The new council questioned whether Ellwood City really needed a new electric building and whether it was worth the cost.
Lisa Guerrera, one of the new council members, said Thursday that Mark Linville, supervisor of the electric department, told officials at a recent meeting that workers don't see the need for a new building, they just need a little more storage space.
Council President Judith Dici, who was on the council at the time the project was approved but voted against the bond issue, said she always questioned the need for the building.
She complained that the previous administration, including then-President Connie MacDonald and former borough Manager Robert Villella, did not seek input from the entire council and did not consult the board on how the building was designed.
Celli, who served on a committee that shepherded the project along, said council made the decision to tackle the electric building at the same time as the public works building because the interest rates were extremely low then and officials feared if they waited the cost would be much higher. He said council members could have asked questions at any time about the project.
Lamenza said supporters of the electric building believed it was a way of showing families moving into the community that the borough is looking forward.
Guerrera responded that she doesn't see it that way. "It shows we are spending money at an alarming rate," she said.
No construction has occurred on the facility, but the borough already spent around $162,000 on engineering and related fees, solicitor Edward Leymarie Jr. said.
He said the borough is unable to start repaying the bond issue for five years, 2022, and the money is earmarked for infrastructure in the electric department, so the money can't be used for other projects. Dici noted the cost of the public works building likely will go up some because they are moving more into it, but the electric bond issue can't be used there.
Guerrera said Linville gave council a list of electric infrastructure work where the money could be used, but as of now there are no cost estimates for any of the work. Leymarie said there will be some engineering costs associated with whatever work council decides to do because the bond issue language requires proof that any repairs will last 30 years, the life of the loan.
However Ellwood City spends the remaining bond issue money, Dici pushed for transparency in the process. "I firmly believe all seven members need to be aware of what is going on," she said.