Borough offices will be closed on September 4, 2023, in observance of Labor Day. Your refuse, normally picked up on Monday, will be picked up on Wednesday, September 6. The refuse crew will begin at 5:00 a.m. that day, so be sure to put your refuse container out the night before after 6:00 p.m. to avoid being missed.

REMINDER: There is no Yard Waste pickup Wednesday, September 6, 2023.

STAY HEALTHY AND SAFE!

BOROUGH OF BELLEFONTE
AUGUST 24, 2023
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The Borough of Bellefonte is requesting sealed proposals for development of the Bellefonte Borough Historic Design Guidelines in accordance with proposal documents.

Project consists of the development of easy-to-understand Historic District Design Guidelines for use by building owners, contractors, Borough Staff, and the Historic Architectural Review Board (HARB) and to facilitate public engagement sessions during the drafting phase of the guidelines.

The Request For Proposal may be downloaded from the Borough’s Historic Preservation website or by obtaining a hard copy at the Borough of Bellefonte Municipal Office located at 236 West Lamb Street, Bellefonte, PA 16823, anytime M-F from 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM.

Sealed proposals will be accepted until 4:00 PM local prevailing time on Monday, September 25, 2023 at the Borough of Bellefonte Municipal Building Office. Proposals will be opened and read publicly by Bellefonte Borough staff during the HARB’s regular review meeting on September 26, 2023 at 8:30 a.m. in the Borough of Bellefonte Municipal Office.

Questions regarding this request for proposal shall be directed to Gina Thompson, HARB Administrator, at [email protected].

The Borough of Bellefonte, through its duly authorized and constituted officials, reserves its rights to reject any or all proposals, to accept or reject any portions thereof, and to waive any informalities, technicalities, irregularities, or defects in the proposals.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 2, 2023

Contact: Timothy Nebgen, [email protected] or 814-765-0598

PennDOT Reopens South Water Street in Bellefonte to Traffic

Bellefonte, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced it reopened Route 150 (South Water Street) between West High and Mill Streets in Bellefonte to two-way traffic this afternoon. The detour impacting northbound traffic heading toward Milesburg is no longer in place.

A section of wall collapsed along this section of Route 150 in November of 2022, and PennDOT mobilized to make temporary repairs that closed the road for a few weeks. Permanent repairs started in April and are now complete.

PennDOT also reopened the sidewalk along this section, which was closed during the project in the interest of public safety.

Work on the project included removing the temporary wall, building a new retaining wall, full-depth paving, drainage improvements, pouring of new concrete curbing and sidewalks, pavement markings, and miscellaneous items. HRI, Inc. of State College was the contractor on this $393,000 emergency project.

Motorists are encouraged to “Know Before They Go” by checking conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website.

Subscribe to PennDOT news in Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Elk, Juniata, McKean, Mifflin, and Potter counties at www.penndot.gov/District2.
Follow PennDOT on Twitter and like the department on Facebook and Instagram.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

07/27/2023

Drought Watch Remains in Place across Pennsylvania

Groundwater levels remain low in many counties

Harrisburg, PA – Following a meeting of the Commonwealth Drought Task Force today, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is maintaining a statewide drought watch. While not required, residents and non-farm businesses are encouraged to voluntarily conserve water by reducing their nonessential water use.

Precipitation over the last month has increased, and stream flows are responding. However, longer term precipitation deficits persist in many areas, and groundwater levels remain low in some counties:

• Northwest: Clarion, Crawford, Elk, Forest, Mercer, Venango, and Warren 
• Central: Centre, Clinton, Cumberland, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon, Lancaster, Lebanon, Montour, Perry, and Union 
• East: Lackawanna, Lehigh, and Wayne

Twenty-one public water suppliers are requesting or requiring water conservation in their communities. 

Residents and businesses are encouraged to reduce their nonessential water use. For example, at home there are many simple ways to use less water:  

• Run the dishwasher and washing machine less often, and only with full loads.
• Don’t let the faucet run while brushing your teeth or shaving. Take shorter showers. For example, consider not washing your hair daily. 
• Water your lawn only if necessary. Avoid watering on windy and hot days. Watering grass lightly and efficiently will encourage healthier, deeper grass roots. Overwatering is wasteful, encourages fungal growth and disease, and results in shallow, compacted root systems that are more susceptible to drought.
• When mowing your lawn, set the blades 2-3 inches high. Longer grass shades the soil, improving moisture retention. 
• Water your garden less often. If necessary, water only in the cooler evening or morning hours, and direct the water to the ground at the base of the plant. Focus on new plantings, which have shallow root systems. Older plants may endure dry conditions longer.
• Skip the car washing. If you have to wash your car, it’s better environmentally to go to a drive-through car wash that recycles the water.
• Sweep your sidewalk, deck, or driveway, instead of hosing it off.
• Check for and repair household leaks. For example, a leaking toilet can waste up to 200 gallons of water daily. 
• Set up a rain barrel to be ready to repurpose rain when it does fall. For helpful information, see this Penn State Extension guide. Or just set out a bucket to capture water in the event of rain, and reuse it to water plants or the bird bath.
• For more tips for residents as well as fact sheets on how businesses such as lawn care services, landscapers, hotels, and restaurants can reduce water use, see the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Drought and WaterSense web page.

Drought watch declarations aren’t based on one indicator alone, such as rainfall. DEP assesses data on precipitation, stream and river flow, groundwater level, and soil moisture and information from public water suppliers.

For a map of daily drought status and a weekly list of public water suppliers that are requesting or requiring water use reduction, see the DEP drought web page.  

For a map that’s updated daily to show the status of each indicator for each county, see the USGS Pennsylvania drought condition monitoring website.

For more information on how DEP monitors conditions and makes drought status declarations, see the DEP drought management fact sheet.

Dates of upcoming meetings of the Commonwealth Drought Task Force are posted on the DEP drought web page.

CONTACT:

Deb Klenotic, DEP

717-787-132

In an effort to provide more reliable and effective communications with residents, Bellefonte Borough has implemented Smart911 as our emergency notification provider.

Smart911 is a system designed to make phone calls to specific people or areas in the event of an emergency or for sharing important information. Bellefonte Borough will use this system to notify residents by phone of information regarding you or your property. The system can make thousands of calls in a minute to convey vital information. These messages may include information on floods, fires, water emergencies, road closures, missing persons, evacuation orders, and weather emergencies.

Smart911 has been provided by a third party data provider and only includes listed phone numbers in Bellefonte Borough. It is important for residents and business owners to provide contact information such as unlisted, unpublished or cell phone numbers. Accurate numbers in the database help to ensure emergency information will be passed on to everyone in a timely manner.

If you would like to provide an alternate number other than your home number, you may do so. The alternate phone number would be called if your primary phone number is not answered by a person or answering machine.

All calls you receive will have the caller ID of “Bellefonte Borough.” Your information will not be provided to any outside agencies or companies.

To sign up to receive Smart911 notifications please visit the following link: https://www.smart911.com/smart911/ref/reg.action?pa=bellefontewater

Sealed proposals will be received by the Borough of Bellefonte at their office located at 236 West Lamb Street, 2^nd floor, Bellefonte, PA 16823 until 3:00 PM, prevailing time on Tuesday, September 5, 2023. The proposal shall be in a sealed envelope and labeled “Parkview Heights Stormwater Project”. The proposals will be publicly opened and read during the Bellefonte Borough Council Business meeting held at the same address in Council Chambers that evening during the Council meeting which begins at 7:30 PM. The sealed proposals are for the construction of:

PARKIVEW HEIGHTS STORMWATER MANAGEMENT BOROUGH OF BELLEFONTE

CENTRE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA CONTRACT NO. 2023-01

Work shall consist of the Installation of approximately 160 L.F. of24″x18″ CMP Arch, 156 L.F. Diversion Berm, and the construction of 1770 L.F. of stonnwater channels and associated tree and sediment removal performed in accordance with the contract documents.

Specifications are on file and open to public inspection at the offices of the Owner and the Consulting Engineers. Copies may be procured by prospective bidders by applying to the office of the Engineers. The non-refundable cost of reproduction and handling will be $25.00 per set. Mail requests will be an additional $10.00. All checks shall be made payable to the Borough of Bellefonte.

Each proposal must be accompanied by a certified check or bid bond payable to the Owner in an amount of not less than ten percent (10%) of the bid or bids. Only bonds from companies licensed to do business in the State where the Owner is located will be accepted and the bond shall so state same.

Bids must be submitted unconditionally. No bidder may withdraw bid within SIXTY (60) days after the scheduled closing time for receipt of bids.

There will be a Pre-bid meeting at 10:00 am on the 28^th of July at the Borough Office.

The Owner reserves the right to waive any informalities, or to reject any or all bids.

The names of those who have secured plans and specifications may be obtained by calling the office of the Engineers, Pennoni Associates Inc., 2571 Park Center Blvd, Suite 2, State College, PA 1801, telephone number 814-826-3893.

For more information on the Spotted Lanternfly and what to do please visit: https://www.agriculture.pa.gov/Plants_Land_Water/PlantIndustry/Entomology/spotted_lanternfly/Pages/default.aspx 

https://extension.psu.edu/spotted-lanternfly