Sewer project’s Phase 3 may end in October

Council moved toward extending interim financing on its second USDA loan.

Phase 3 of the Monessen sewer rehabilitation project, which involves a bulk of the pipe repair in the yearslong undertaking, is expected to wrap up in October.

Monessen has spent the first of two $7.6 million USDA loans it was awarded for the project in 2020. Council approved the first reading of an ordinance to extend the second loan’s interim financing by 30 months at Thursday’s meeting, as it was set to expire in March.

“It’s got a lot of time left; we hope to be able to complete that project long before then,” Mayor Ron Mozer said.

If the second reading passes at the Feb. 27 meeting, the city will take the remaining balance from the loans, combine it into one account and will pay 1.125% interest over a 40-year period.

Currently, the interest rate on the first USDA loan fluctuates. According to the city, it was at 5.39% Wednesday, and Mozer has seen it as high as 7%.

The city pays $30,000 to $40,000 per month in interest on the loan. By reducing the interest rate, Monessen will save the city about $885 per day, according to Mozer.

Phase 3 work has taken place on Third, Sixth, Ninth and 12th streets along with other areas of the city.

The Department of Environmental Protection mandated the rehab project in 2009 to repair the city’s sewer lines, which are more than a century old.

City seeking funding for concert series

Monessen intends to provide a summer concert series in City Park, which was announced last month, free of charge so it’s in search of sponsors to help fund the $16,000 budget.

“We’re hoping local, some of these bigger businesses we do have in Monessen, hopefully they’re going to support this, because then you’re going to get people coming to town,” Councilwoman Karen Cosner said.

Cleveland-Cliffs has already agreed to become a sponsor of the concert series.

The city also applied for an $8,000 grant through the PNC Charitable Trust to help cover the concert series expenses.

The city currently has about $1,000 of the $3,000 required to pay musician Billy Price to headline the first concert.

“So we have a ways to go between now and the end of the month,” Mozer said.