Three projects in New Kensington receive a total of $186,000 coming from tax revenue collected from Westmoreland’s casino.
The grants were part of a countywide grant package of more than $470,000, paid for with tax revenue from Live! Casino.
They include Girl Scout Little House renovations, Peoples Library modernizations and a new police cruiser.
“These have quite a large impact on our community,” Mayor Tom Guzzo said. “It allows us to do things not necessarily in our budget.”
Here’s a look at each project:
The Girl Scout Little House
The historic building off Oates Boulevard by Valley High School will undergo $25,000 worth of construction and restoration.
Interior hardwood floors and exterior pine-clad siding at the city-run event space will be repaired and refinished.
The plumbing, lighting and electrical systems will also be updated.
“We are looking forward to renovating The Girl Scout Little House,” Guzzo said.
The Little House can be rented for celebrations including, birthdays, weddings and graduation parties.
Guzzo said the repairs were necessary.
“Because it is used so frequently, there are, of course, updates needed,” he said.
He said construction would start sometime in the spring, but there is no work schedule yet.
Guzzo said the city will try to avoid interference with rental times during construction.
The little house sits behind the Massy Harbison Cabin — a historical building named after pioneer woman Massy Harbison. The cabin has been under restoration since last year.
Peoples Library
As Peoples Library eyes its 100th anniversary next year, upcoming improvements to its Barnes Street location are a way to solidify its position as a public institution for years to come, said library Director David Hrivnak.
The updates include electrical system replacement, a new HVAC unit, installing new security cameras, masonry repairs and replacement of the library’s front door.
Hrivnak said none of the projects are glamorous but are necessary to daily functions.
The library received $94,000 in casino tax money for the upgrades.
He said the security camera system — which still tapes on black-and-white VHS cassettes, is about 30 years old. It will be replaced with modern color cameras and record on a VCR.
The replacement is not an expansion of the system, but simply an upgrade that the library hoped to do before they inevitably stopped working, which Hrivnak said would probably be in the next few years.
“It’s very much dated,” Hrivnak said. “It’s just harder to maintain the (old) equipment.”
The new 10-ton rooftop HVAC unit will replace one of five that has stopped working.
Masonry repairs will fix the mortar joints at the bottom of the building that have been eroded by years of sidewalk and road salting, Hrivnak said.
The grant will also pay for a new, steel front door, replacing the current rusted one.
The current New Kensington branch of Peoples Library was built in 1973.
This is the second time the library has applied for grants for these upgrades.
Hrivnak said the updates are a positive steps to keeping the library a part of the community.
Police department
The police department also received just under $67,000 for a new vehicle, which will replace an old one, Guzzo said.
“It is very important that we continually maintain and have the ability to purchase new vehicles so that our officers can be safe and prepared when they patrol,” Guzzo said.
He said having a new vehicle extends the life of current ones and that the old cruiser had high mileage.
Guzzo said it would be purchased in the spring.
A member of the New Kensington Police Department could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday.