Rep. Mike Kelly announces FY2025 Community Project Funding requests (2024)

WASHINGTON, D.C. --Today,U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA)announced his 2025 Community Project Funding requests ahead of the upcoming budget process. The projects will be included in the upcoming budget process by the House Appropriations Committee.This year's requests total more than $35 million.A final list of projects approved by the House Appropriations Committee, along with the designated funding totals, are expected to be announced later this year.

Rep. Kelly received more than 50 applications from across the 16th Congressional District.

"It's important for everyone to remember that this isn't Washington's money -- it's your money. That's why my team and I select projects that will provide taxpayers and our local communities with the best return on their investment,"Rep. Kelly said."This funding will improve physical infrastructure throughout the district, including roadways, waterlines, and wastewater treatment facilities. We are once again boosting local fire departments. And, after we secured nearly $50 million for Butler County's Gateway 228 project, we are continuing our investment to expand one of the most-traveled roadways in Western Pennsylvania.

The 2025 Community Project Funding requests submitted by Rep. Kelly are outlined below, by county, and include the requested amount of funding, recipient of the funding, and description of the project. You can read more information on Rep. Kelly's websitehere.

ERIE COUNTY

Project:City of Erie Emergency Operations Center Construction
Recipient:City of Erie
Address of Recipient:2111 State Street, Erie, PA 16503
Amount:$3,000,000
Benefits/Justification of Taxpayer Funds:This project will construct a new Emergency Operations Center in the heart of Erie. In 2021, the city noted advanced deterioration of the existing facility located at 311 Marsh Street. This new Emergency Operations Center will serve a 14-county region in Northwestern Pennsylvania and has far-reaching implications for increasing public safety, improving coordination and collaboration with first responders and law enforcement organizations, facilitating regional training opportunities, reducing crime, and improving the efficiency of effectiveness of disaster response throughout the region.

Project:Erie co*ke Demolition Project
Recipient:Erie Western PA Port Authority
Address of Recipient:925 East Bay Drive, Erie, PA 16507
Amount:$2,000,000
Benefits/Justification of Taxpayer Funds:This project will demolish the existing smokestack and condemned structures at the former Erie co*ke Site. Abandoned in 2019, the lakefront Erie co*ke Site has been an environmental hazard in the City of Erie for nearly five years. This project would help remediate the environmental hazards presented by the abandoned site which would benefit the health and safety of the entire community and provide nearly 200 acres of usable lakefront property.

Project:Greenfield Township Volunteer FireCompany
Recipient:Greenfield Township Volunteer Fire Company
Address of Recipient:10462 Station Road, North East, PA 16428
Amount:$1,000,000
Benefits/Justification of Taxpayer Funds:This project would construct a new fire station for the Volunteer Fire Company in Greenfield Township. The existing fire station was built in the 1940’s when fire engines were much smaller, it is also on a busy 50-mph road which presents traffic safety issues when entering and leaving the station. A new station will allow the fire company to better and more safely provide critical emergency services.

Project:Erie County Industrial Park
Recipient:Erie County
Address of Recipient:McKean PA
Amount:$4,000,000
Benefits/Justification of Taxpayer Funds:This new industrial park in McKean Township will stimulate economic growth, create jobs, attract businesses, and increase tax revenue, while also improving infrastructure, fostering business expansion, and promoting environmental stewardship. Erie County lacks the adequate infrastructure and facilities for industrial development; this project would provide the infrastructure for a new industrial park.

BUTLER COUNTY

Project:Summit Township Sanitary Sewer Project
Recipient:Summit Township
Address of Recipient:502 Bonniebrook Road, Butler, PA 16002
Amount:$4,000,000
Benefits/Justification of Taxpayer Funds:This project would construct a new 0.130 MGD sewage treatment plant, 2 pump stations, approximately 3,800 linear feet of force main, approximately 81,000 linear feet of gravity collection sewers, and 29 grinder pumps. Many homes and businesses in the Township rely on on-lot sewage systems, which were found to have a failure rate of 40.1%. This project would install a central sewage system for the township, alleviating environmental concerns and providing the community a reliable, necessary public service.

Project:Route 19 Waterline Replacement
Recipient:Cranberry Township
Address of Recipient:State Route 19 (Dutilh Road to Ernie Mashuda Drive)
Amount:$1,663,000
Benefits/Justification of Taxpayer Funds:This project would complete the replacement of the waterline along Route 19 in Cranberry Township. The existing waterline is at a high risk of failing due to age, amount of line breaks per segment, and the number of customers effected by this line. Cranberry Township’s water system provides an average of 2.5 million gallons per day and serves approximately 11,000 customers. This phase of the project will replace 2,100 linear feet of 12-inch waterline and 2,300 linear feet of 8-inch waterline.

Project:Ekastown West 3R (PA 228)
Recipient:PennDOT District 10
Address of Recipient:Along SR 228 near Saxonburg
Amount:$7,000,000
Benefits/Justification of Taxpayer Funds:This project would realign, construct, and rehabilitate the roadway of PA 228 in Clinton and Buffalo Townships. PA 228 is a primary collector, and the project will improve commuting and transportation in the greater Pittsburgh area and beyond by expanding upon traffic and safety improvements that have already been made on PA 228.

Project:Chicora Drinking Water Plant
Recipient:Chicora Borough
Address of Recipient:109 Water Street, Chicora, PA 16025
Amount:$3,400,000
Benefits/Justification of Taxpayer Funds:This project would upgrade and repair the outdated Drinking Water Plant. The existing plant was constructed of repurposed filtration and storage tanks from industrial installations donated to the Borough and is past the expected service life for these parts. Chicora provides potable water service to approximately 1,100 people in the Borough, including an Elementary School.

Project:Harmony Fire District – Apparatus Replacement
Recipient:Harmony Fire District
Address of Recipient:543 Main Street, Harmony, PA 16037
Amount:$1,200,000
Benefits/Justification of Taxpayer Funds:This project would replace an existing apparatus that is currently 22 years old. The Harmony Fire District serves four municipalities, two of which rank among the top five fastest growing communities in Pennsylvania.

CRAWFORD COUNTY

Project:West Mead #1 Volunteer Fire Company New Engine
Recipient:West Mead #1 Volunteer Fire Company
Address of Recipient:10482 Liberty Street, Meadville, PA 16335
Amount:$761,920.93
Benefits/Justification of Taxpayer Funds:This new pumper/tanker would replace the current pumper that is 30 years old and does not have the capacity to service mutual aid partners that do not have access to a municipal water system. This new pumper tanker would increase capacity from 1000 gallons of water to 2500 gallons of water and provide the ability to inject a foam solution into the water that would increase effectiveness 3-5 times. Call volume increased by 25% from 2021 to 2023 for West Mead #1, and this new pumper/tanker would allow them to carry out their critical emergency services duties effectively and efficiently.

MERCER COUNTY

Project:Hermitage Municipal Authority Sewer Upgrades in Wheatland Neighborhood
Recipient:Hermitage Municipal Authority
Address of Recipient:2133 Broadway Road, Hermitage, PA 16148
Amount:$913,600
Benefits/Justification of Taxpayer Funds:This project would demolish the existing Wheatland Pump Station and install 1,100 linear feet of sewer lines to divert the flow to the existing Council Avenue Pump Station. The existing Wheatland Pump Station has reached the end of its 50-year lifespan and presents environmental hazards from storm water inflow and infiltration that cause pollution of the nearby river and/or sewage backups in homes and businesses.

LAWRENCE COUNTY