(File Photo of State Representative Rob Matzie)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Ambridge, PA) State Representative Rob Matzie announced in Pennsylvania yesterday that nearly $2.9 million in grant funding, approved by the Commonwealth Financing Authority, will support multiple projects in the 16^th Legislative District. This funding is aimed at improving municipal services, strengthening infrastructure, and enhancing the quality of life for residents. According to a release in Ambridge yesterday from Matzie’s office, more than $2.64 million in grants awarded through the Local Share Account will help municipalities keep critical services flowing and he said grants funded through the Local Share Account include:

• $500,000 to Center Township Water Authority to replace the existing 250,000-gallon and 400,000-gallon elevated water storage tanks along Pleasant Drive with a single 1.5-million-gallon elevated steel water storage tank to provide long-term sustainability.
• $389,318 to Center Township Water Authority to improve water distribution – including replacing 2,500 linear feet of aging lines – to meet the increased demand for potable water resulting from construction of the Shell Chemical Plant and increased business and residential development.
• $333,265 to Center Township Sanitary Authority to upgrade more than 5,000 linear feet of sanitary sewer as well as manholes and related appurtenances from St. James Park to Edgewater Drive. The current sewer is in poor condition and subject to surcharging during wet weather conditions.
• $300,000 to Aliquippa Municipal Water Authority for Phase I repair of sanitary sewer defects, including repair of 2,200 linear feet of sewer lines and manhole-to-manhole cured-in-place lining of 14,000 linear feet, along Kennedy Boulevard and Franklin Avenue.
• $300,000 to Conway Borough, on behalf of the Beaver Valley Regional Police Department, to purchase six vehicles for use in Baden, Conway, and Freedom boroughs and Rochester Township to replace deteriorating, aging fleet.
• $205,335 to Center Township for playground improvements to enhance the safety, functionality and accessibility of Sherwood and Sylvan Crest parks. The work will include excavation, demolition, new play structures, safer ground covering, fencing, erosion controls and utilities.
• $203,440 to Ambridge Borough to support roadway improvements, including repaving Hazel Avenue, Port Ambridge Drive, Century Drive and Glenwood Drive from 5^th to 4^th streets.
• $200,000 to Ambridge Water Authority to replace the existing cast iron water main on Maplewood Avenue, which experiences frequent breaks, with 1,530 feet of new water main, among other work.
• $100,000 to Ambridge Borough to help purchase two new police vehicles, a fire squad vehicle, a public works truck, a backhoe and a skid-steer.
• $61,788 to Monaca Borough to purchase and install 10 police vehicle-mounted camera systems and 15 police body camera systems.
• $50,000 to Harmony Township for landslide investigations involving Forest Road, which experienced a landslide in April 2024, and Ridge and Valley roads, which are exhibiting cracking that indicate the potential for future landslides.

Matzie also noted that an additional $237,000 in funding awarded under Act 13’s Greenways, Trails, and Recreation Program includes:

• $120,000 to Center Township to fund the Municipal Park Pavilion.
• $75,000 to Monaca Borough for Phase II Antoline Park improvements.
• $42,000 to Ambridge Borough for the Ambridge Community Center Sports Complex.