SCHUYLKILL HAVEN - State Rep. Mike Tobash, R-125, met with Schuylkill Haven Borough officials Friday in an effort to understand the dispute over reimbursements for the Route 61 widening project.
"It was a very productive meeting," Tobash said.
He met with borough Manager Scott Graver and Marlin Berger Jr., council president.
"My attempt here is to understand what we're dealing with first," Tobash said.
In an email, Graver said he discussed the history of the project with Tobash and the issue of electric utility relocation costs.
A call to Berger was not returned Friday.
The borough and PennDOT are on different sides of the road in reference to electric relocation costs for the $11,660,854 project that will add two lanes through the borough. The project could start by next spring if issues get worked out.
The council voted Nov. 7 to stop work associated with the project until a finalized written agreement is in place.
Graver has said notes from meetings with PennDOT officials indicate that the department was going to pay 100 percent for electric relocation costs. He said that if PennDOT sees fit to pay 50 percent of those costs, the financial impact to the borough could be $500,000.
Tobash said he spoke with the head of research for the transportation department with the state Legislature and also left messages with PennDOT officials. He did not want to elaborate further.
The borough council adopted two resolutions in May needed to proceed with the project. One was for water and sewer relocation and the other for electric. Graver has said PennDOT will pay for 50 percent of the water and sewer costs and 100 percent of electric utility costs. Ron Young, a spokesman for PennDOT District 5, said the department is reviewing reimbursement rates to utility owners that have to move them due to state transportation projects.
Information from PennDOT states the total cost of the project is $11,660,854. However, that figure is a current estimate and could change, Young said in an email. The preliminary engineering costs are $1,187,631, final design $1,063,022, Utility relocation $1,087,500, right-of-way acquisition $1,050,000 and construction $7,242,700.