County commissioners presented with LCA five-year capital plan

The Lehigh County Board of Commissioners were presented with the Lehigh County Authority’s five year capital plan at the board’s Aug. 24 meeting.

Liesel Gross, chief executive officer of LCA, said the plan is merely an overview.

“We felt a five-year plan was more manageable,” Gross said. “A capital plan is the most conceptual. It’s a five-year look out.”

According to Gross, 85 projects are included in the five-year plan, with $25 million of work anticipated in 2017. Total funding for the plan, she added, is $146 million.

Roughly $2.8 million is planned for administration for 2017 in the form of information technology projects.

Included in the capital plan, Gross added, is the water and wastewater budgets. LCA has and services 13 main water systems in the county.

Gross told the board LCA is going to borrow approximately $20 million to pay for various water projects.

She noted LCA must focus on the Environmental Protection Agency administration order requiring the elimination of all sanitary overflows.

In terms of Allentown City, LCA has $76 million in projects planned, Gross said. Such projects include two miles of water main replacement, which will cost about $17 million.

In other business during the meeting, Commissioner Geoff Brace presented a motion, unanimously approved by the board, opposing the Federal Highway Administration’s Metropolitan Planning Organization Coordination and Planning Area Reform.

Brace said the plan, if accepted, will turn the Lehigh Valley into a “mega region” and result in the loss of funding. Commissioner David Jones agreed, stressing the valley would lose its autonomy.

The FHA proposal would result in the Lehigh Valley competing with other areas for funding.

Commissioner Dr. Percy Dougherty added, “This is the most egregious example of big government.”

The board will hold its next meeting 7:30 p.m. Sept. 14 in the public hearing room of the Lehigh County Government Center, 17 S. Seventh St., Allentown.