West Penn Township supervisors held a public hearing to modify the way it will spend Community Block Grant Funds from prior years.

The township has $20,480 left from CDBG funds from 2012. That money had been earmarked for use on demolition projects. Instead, the township will modify its CDBG plans from 2012 and apply those monies to the 2014 program.That brings the 2014 CDBG funds to about $70,000, which will be used to make "handicapped barrier improvements" to the township building, and $68,800 in CDBG funds will be used for "handicapped barrier improvements to the township's Annex Building, which houses the police department on the second floor, while service organizations, Boy Scouts and other groups hold meetings on the first floor. The Annex Building is on a hilltop above the township building, adjacent to Route 309.Jeff DeAngelo, Alfred Benesch Engineering, explained the basics of the plan."At the township building, we'll be adding a ramp and an ADA accessible door, along with accessible parking on the right-hand side of the building," DeAngelo said. "At the Annex Building, we'll be adding a ramp and ADA door on the right-hand side of the building's lower level, along with accessible parking. And inside, we'll add an ADA bathroom."Karen Parish, senior project manager with Mullin & Lonergan Associates, Camp Hill, is a consultant for Schuylkill County and assisted the township and DeAngelo in developing the plan. In the future, DeAngelo suggested seeking grant monies for work aimed at improving handicapped accessibility at West Penn Park East, and using anticipated CDBG funds as the township's match for the grant.Chairman Jim Akins thanked DeAngelo and Parish."We appreciate your guidance," he said. "We'll continue to move forward, and we have a vision of where we want to go."