This article was funded by LebTown donors as part of our Civic Impact Reporting Project.
Mount Gretna Borough Council voted March 10 to fix the borough’s salt structure due to wear on the building.
Council approved a purchase from Nolt’s Garden Center for solid concrete blocks and other necessary materials for an estimated total of $8,795.
Borough crews will put the structure together. They will make three walls, according to public works director Bill Care, and then he will try to get county liquid fuels funding for new roofing.
Read More: Mount Gretna Borough to look into rebuilding salt storage structure
This was the cheapest option that included all required materials, including corners and filler pieces. Care said he also got a cost estimate from a concrete company that would include pouring the concrete to make the walls rather than building them with individual blocks. This quote was around $35,000, so they chose to move forward with the cheaper option.
“Our staff will install these, then we’re going to work to try to get a grant to do the new roof that will have to go over this when we get the blocking,” he said. “There’s 65 of the 2-by-2-by-6 blocks, 10 5-foot corners, 10 2-foot pieces for the corners to fill in, and then the delivery is $720.”
Following the February meeting, Care said the current structure was built in the 1990s out of wood to store around 100 tons of salt, and the material is now starting to deteriorate. The roof is starting to fail, and the wood is beginning to rot.
Construction will happen over the summer, he said, so it should be ready for next winter.
In other business:
- Borough solicitor Keith Kilgore said he is drafting a letter to state Senator Chris Gebhard to get more influence in trying to get Met-Ed to fix the seven streetlights on Route 117. Met-Ed is responsible for any required fixes and lightbulb changes. Care said they have been reaching out to the electric company for over a year and a half, and they hope assistance from a politician will bring a timely fix. He said Met-Ed previously told the borough they passed the information on to their engineers.
- Kerry Royer with Lebanon Bicycle Recycle asked council to close Gettysburg Avenue between Route 117 and Pennsylvania Avenue on May 21 so the organization can bring in a trailer to collect bicycle donations and set up two food trucks following for the community to enjoy following the Ride of Silence honoring bicyclists killed while biking. Council approved the request. Royer said she will come back with more information as plans are finalized. She later told LebTown that the event would be from 5 to 8:30 p.m., with the ride starting at 6 p.m.
- Care also told the council that they will send out information to Mount Gretna Authority customers about droughts because the county is under a drought warning. The authority is asking users conserve water due to the dry conditions and lack of rain. The letter that customers will receive will include nonessential water usage examples, which will be prohibited during the drought emergency, and ways to limit water usage.
Mount Gretna Borough Council will meet next at 6 p.m. on April 14.
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