Borough makes tentative move toward traffic signal

EVERETT — Council members were split on the value of having a traffic light at the bottom of North River Lane, the main access road to Everett Area Middle/High School, but moved ahead with plans for the traffic control measure anyway. Everett Borough on Monday approved an application for a permit to install and operate a traffic light at the intersection of East Main Street and North River Lane. Councilman Charlie Karns objected and said the light would be a waste of money and only cause more headaches for traffic. The heavy flow of vehicles is a concern for the school district. Last year, two girls were hurt in a pedestrian/vehicle accident. The district and the borough have been in negotiations for months on a swap that would give the borough a small parcel of land. In exchange, the borough would provide policing or traffic control at the school intersection. The borough also has offered to provide snow removal and cleaning of district parking lots and storm drains.

School board looks for ways to cut project costs

Bedford Area School Board members moved forward with the middle school project, but they are looking at ways to divide the bidding and possibly delete items to bring the project in under budget. The board voted Monday to submit the next two planning documents to the state. PlanCon D is a project financing document and PlanCon E is design drawings. The next document, however, is PlanCon F, which is for construction documents, and by then, the board will have to make some hard decisions on what work it is going to bid. Architect Mark Barnhardt of EI Associates presented some updated figures for the project Monday, and his ideas are about $1.7 million over the $12 million the board wanted to use as a cap for both renovations and an addition to the middle school. Actual construction is now estimated at $10.9 million, with more than $8.4 of that going to the renovations and about $2.5 million to the addition. But project cost, which includes architects, permits and legal fees, for example, brings the outlay to $13.7 million. Barnhardt presented a list of alternate bids, which could delete up to 14 items, ranging from rebuilding and adding tennis courts to adding parking or new equipment to the kitchen. The items would bring the project down to $12 million. But the board saw the project divisions differently, perhaps with the addition of a gymnasium as one alternate and the classrooms — particularly cabinetry — kitchen and outdoor renovations as others. A committee of board members will meet with Barnhardt and others from EI, possibly via a telephone conference, to discuss the ideas further.

DEATHS

CLARK, Thomas E. “Jim” Sr., 72, of Everett.

KNECHTEL, Frank J. Jr., 56, of 12222 Polktown Road, Lot 75, Waynesboro.

SIRKO, Ellen, 80, of Claysburg.

WILSON, James W., 68, of Business 220, Bedford, formerly of Schellsburg.