CLARION, Pa. — For Miles Brothers, LLC, it’s been a long journey to getting approval for a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District at the old Owens-Illinois Glass Plant, but their dream became a reality Tuesday night when Clarion Borough Council gave its approval for the TIF in a unanimous vote.

“It’s been about four years in the process since we decided to turn the old glass plant property into an industrial park,” Ryan Miles of Miles Brothers, LLC said following Tuesday’s vote. “Here we are, it’s 2016 in the Fall, and we are finally getting there. This has kind of been the last step to officially get things moving.”

According to Miles, some financial paperwork will still need to be signed and some engineering still needs to take place.

“Now the legwork begins to actually do the project,” Miles said. “Now the thing is getting the park in and securing the tenants who are interested in being in there and making this all come to light. We are pretty happy.”

Clarion Borough Council President Carol Lapinto said it’s been a long process, but she is happy the project is at this point.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Lapinto said. “There have been a lot of hoops and loops we had to go through. The borough had to do the most because the TIF will actually be in the borough. We certainly support this and hope this will bring new jobs and growth. Jobs are something we really need. So, we are excited and hope it’s successful.”

Also at the meeting, the recent flooding of the Clarion Free Library and what could be done about it was discussed.

“We kicked around some idea,” Jason Noto of the Library Committee said. “It appears there is a larger pipe down below and a smaller pipe going into it and the water is bottlenecking at the smaller pipe. We are thinking about getting a catch basin and a bigger pipe at the top. We think the lower pipe is big enough to handle the water.”

After Noto gave his report, Mark Hall the Borough Secretary, said that just before the meeting he had heard back on an engineering solution that he was going to take to the Library Committee.

“Be prepared for sticker shock,” Hall said.

In other business:

• The annual Halloween Parade will take place at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 31. Interested participants are asked to line up at McDonald’s starting at 5:15 p.m. Trick-Or-Treating will take place in the borough following the parade from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Residents who plan on participating in Trick-Or-Treat are asked to leave their porch light on.
• Council approved the Venango County Association for the Blind’s Special Event Request for White Cane Day Walk to be held Oct. 18.
• Richard Hulings was reappointed as an Alternate Zoning Hearing Board Member for a 3-year term to expire Oct. 7, 2019.
• Council is still looking to fill a vacant spot on the Zoning Hearing Board. Any borough resident interested should contact the borough office.
• Updates were given on three public works projects. The Toby Street Storm Sewer Repair Project and the South and Sixth Storm Water Repair project should both be completed by the end of the week. The Second and Wood Concrete Restoration Project has encountered a slight delay but it should also be nearing completion.
• Notto asked about the Pennsylvania American Water project on Fourth Street and if it was PA American Water’s responsibility to fix the pavement when done. According to Hall, there is a borough ordinance in place that says that if a utility company tears up borough property that utility company is responsible for restoring the property to the condition it was in before the project.
• Councilperson Rachel Roberts noted the Library is still selling used books. Books are $5 a bag.
• Roberts also announced Friends of the Library will be selling soup on Election Day, Nov. 8, at the Library.
• The public is reminded that the Nov. 1 Council Meeting will be held the Clarion Borough Offices instead of the Clarion Free Library. The reason for the change was the Borough originally thought Nov. 1 was election day, and they normally give up the Council Room in the Library on Election Day. But Election Day turned out to be a week later this year, and it would cost the borough between $50 and $100 to re-advertise that the meeting would be at the Library so they determined to keep it at the Borough Building.