Sewage Tank No Longer an Option in Heidelberg Park

has been removed as a possible location to install a multimillion-gallon ALCOSAN sewage storage tank, Mayor Kenneth LaSota said.

The Heidelberg mayor told the borough council this week that he learned earlier this month that ALCOSAN has removed the park from consideration and may go with a different approach to the storage plan.

ALCOSAN had wanted to install a 6 to 9-million gallon storage tank underneath Heidelberg Park, along with various other locations near the Chartiers Creek. LaSota said the issue galvanized the community for two years and garnered 126 signatures on a petition against the plan.

LaSota said he attended an ALCOSAN committee meeting on Aug. 2 and saw that Heidelberg Park had been removed from the plan. Instead, the current plan is to install storage tanks in Crafton, McKees Rocks and outside of Bridgeville, while also using larger pipes that can both transport and store sewage.

“Now that Heidelberg isn’t on the radar, I think people will be happy,” LaSota said. “That doesn’t mean it couldn’t change again.”

He said Heidelberg Park was considered a “prime location” two years ago. That upset nearby homeowners and the borough, which had just turned the area from an industrial zone into a beautiful new park.

“The uncertainty of what it would be like had a lot of people apprehensive,” LaSota said.

Also during the meeting…

Council tabled a motion to spend nearly $11,000 for an architect to devise plans . Councilman Al Kosol said he wanted to wait to see if the borough would be able to secure any grant money to help pay for the more than $200,000 garage. Borough Manager Joe Kauer said they can wait, but it may be difficult to receive any grant money due to the state’s financial situation.

Kauer said they received only two bids . The first bid was for $110,750, which is about $12,000 more than they were expecting, but the bidder rescinded that offer. The other bid for $136,000 was immediately rejected by council. Kauer suggested they put the project out to bid again and for a longer period of time so they can garner more interest in the project.

Nineteen people received instructions on how to be American Red Cross volunteers during a training day on Aug. 6. The borough also received a Red Cross trailer that would assist those volunteers in the event of an emergency. There are two more training classes that must be completed before the borough receives the designation as a Community Evacuation Shelter Team.