Little Sinking Spring dives deeper into development commitments

by Steve Reinbrecht

Sinking Spring council members took a big step Thursday – voting 5-2 to accept a $1.1 million state grant to help it raise money for its ongoing traffic improvement project at the stretch where Shillington Road and Penn, Columbia, Cacoosing and Mull avenues converge.

Two members voted no, concerned about how the borough of 4,100 will pay the $684,000 it has to put up as a match. Sinking Spring raised taxes this year, hitting a property assessed at $200,000 with a $136 increase.

One “no” vote, council member George Butkus, said he supports the revitalization project but not building a street parallel to Penn Avenue, designed to ease congestion and create a shopping district..

He said he is concerned about the cost of that part of the project and how the borough will pay for the grant match. The hope is that property tax revenue will boom after developers improve the 20-acre area.

“The benefit to the tax base is not as assured as it needs to be for my vote,” Butkus said.

Denise Stine said she voted “no” because she is not sure the project is needed now, and because PPL Electric Utilities’ push to hang a 69,000-voltpower line on 100-foot poles through the middle of it all could put the “kibosh” on the borough’s plans.

In another move to raise money for the project, Sinking Spring has started putting together a tax deal called a TIF under the state’s“tax incremental financing” program.

The Berks County Redevelopment Authority would borrow $5 million to help acquire properties to make way for the new street parallel to Penn Avenue.

Officials from the borough, Wilson School District and Berks County would need to agree on a plan to forgo taxes generated by new development for a while.

That money would be diverted to repay the authority.

Such tax schemes have powered road improvements around Cabela’s in Tilden Township and the Exeter Commons Mall in Exeter Township.

The borough has received a $784,000 grant from PennDOT for the next phase.

The first part of the project was redeveloping the former Boscov’s parcel at Route 724 and Penn Avenue.

In the next phase, the borough demolished properties this fall to make room to straighten the intersection at Columbia, Caccosing and Penn avenues.