New parking garage may include new borough hall

OXFORD >> A proposed public parking garage in the borough is now planned to include a new borough hall.

The original concept design for the three-story garage included 2,700 square feet of retail space that might have been rented or sold to help cover the cost of what was originally a $5.8 million project.

The idea of using that commercial space for a new borough hall brings the cost of the project up to somewhere between $7.1 and $7.3 million. On the other side of the

ledger, money in an anonymous gift fund has been earmarked for purchase of a new borough hall for many years but a satisfactory site has never been found.

Using the money set aside for a borough hall, as well as multiple grants, brings the funding for the project closer to complete, even though the total price has gone up. At this point, the borough would need to borrow about $2 million to complete the project.

A variety of grant applications have already been submitted, with about $5 million apparently available to the borough. Additional grants are also being pursued that could cut the borough’s share of the cost even more.

Wrapped into the project is a plan for improvements to Second Street, from Mt. Vernon to Locust.

Combining that work with the parking lot project makes it eligible for a potential grant of $689,000, which is part of the total cost calculation.

The parking garage was a major discussion item at Monday’s Borough Council meeting, where several members of the business community spoke in support of the concept.

Borough Manager Brian Hoover has calculated that even using conservative estimates, the borough can afford the new parking garage. “Worst case scenario, we could pay for this with half the spaces full, half the time of the day,” he said.

With commitments of support and grant funding coming in, it appears to many council members that this may be the right time for this project.

“If we stop now, it will never happen,” Council President Ron Hershey said.

Recent financial woes for the Oxford Area Sewer Authority, and the borough’s potential financial obligations to them color some opinions.

“I feel completely duped (by the sewer situation),” Council Member Sue Lombardi said. “I feel hesitant to make any decision moving forward, but I know that’s not going to et us anywhere. I feel that in this adventure, everything is up front. When it comes time to make this final vote (on the garage) it will be a difficult one that has taken a lot of thought.”

There will be a public meeting on the subject of the parking garage scheduled for April.

In other business, council is considering a Municipay system that will allow residents to pay their water bills at the borough hall by credit card. There will be a convenience fee of 2.65 percent or a minimum of $3 charged separately with each bill paid.