Patton Township awarded $180,000 grant to help sinkhole victims, Rep. Conklin announced
Months after a sinkhole displaced nearly 20 families in the State College area and upended their lives, some assistance will finally be available.
Pennsylvania House Rep. Scott Conklin, D-Rush Township, announced the $180,000 grant during a press conference Monday and said it will help cover the costs of engineering, inspections, renovations and shelter for the families impacted by the sinkhole.
On Dec. 25, 2022, a sinkhole and water main break occurred in the parking lot of 18 townhouses between 432-466 Amblewood Way, State College. Brian Heiser, executive director of the State College Borough Water Authority, previously told the Centre Daily Times that the authority’s opinion is the sinkhole has been in existence for a “period of time” and the main was not being supported by anything because it was over top of the sinkhole. It eventually collapsed.
Residents living in the 18 affected townhouses were told by the Centre Region Code Administration that the buildings were “posted as unsafe.” Residents were forced to find alternate living arrangements for an unspecified amount of time and had several unexpected costs associated with the disaster.
“I want everyone to imagine Christmas Eve, going to bed waiting for their Christmas Day, to find out that your present is that you don’t have a place to live. You have nowhere to go and no one to help. I couldn’t even imagine. I could not even imagine that happening and that’s what these folks went through,” Conklin said, with a handful of Amblewood Way residents by his side.
Conklin said there is no state or federal aid that can help individuals impacted by the sinkhole. Even if state aid was available, he said it would take months for it to be brought in.
“The reason (the grant) is available is because of the hard work of the residents, the hard work of the staff, the hard work of the Patton Township elected officials, but also the governor saw this need. This is money that comes out of places that it normally doesn’t come from,” Conklin said. “So, everybody working together was able to make this work. And this is what government is about. It’s not about one individual coming in. It’s about the community itself understanding a need.”
The grant is funded through discretionary funding, he said, and will be awarded to Patton Township. Once the township has the money, it will be up to them to distribute it to the residents as they see fit, Nick Himebaugh, executive director of the PA House State Government Committee, said.
“(The grant) is drafted very broadly, so there’s very little restrictions in terms of how they disperse that money. Whether it’s for reimbursements or direct payments to contractors. It does allow for reimbursement for hotel costs if there’s money left over, if we get to that point,” Himebaugh said.
In the future, Conklin also plans to introduce legislation that would provide some relief to those impacted by future disasters. The legislation would provide families with up to 90 days of relief by allowing hotels and motels a state tax credit equal to the discounted or comped cost of a room donated to a PA family displaced by a disaster, a press release states.
Pam Robb, Patton Township Supervisor, encouraged homeowners to check their insurance policy for three riders: subsidence, sinkhole and earthquake.
Robb said everyone — politicians of every party, insurance agents, hotel owners — needs to come together to continue the work.
“...We have to come together and work on this project, because it could be in Ferguson, College, Harris, Halfmoon. It could be in any of your neighborhoods, any of your communities, a sinkhole can happen. And I tell you these individuals are standing here strong, courageous. And with his help, they are able to go back in their homes,” Robb said.
Some, not all, residents have returned home
Maria Truglio lived in her home on Amblewood Way for 17 years. Since Christmas Day, she and her husband have been “living out of our luggage” at various temporary locations, while still going to work and living their lives. She said she was grateful to the township supervisors, Conklin and Governor Josh Shapiro for the grant.
“The funds themselves, of course, are gonna be a huge help ... but also just the sense that, you know, somebody sees what’s going on and cares,” Truglio said. “It’s been a financial hit, but also a huge psychological hit to be living through.”
Mollie Craig, another longtime Amblewood Way resident impacted by the sinkhole, said some people have been able to return to their homes, but not everyone. Most of the sinkhole has since been filled in after the water main was replaced, with protective fencing surrounding the site.
Converse Consultants completed an overall community study that satisfied the Centre Region Code’s requirement of subsurface review and it was paid for from the HOA’s reserve funds from the homeowners $150/month fee. This saved the homeowners the cost of hiring their own geotechnical/forensic engineer as originally required in the letter from the code office, Craig wrote in an email.
There are six units that have foundation issues. Those homeowners have contacted a company out of Harrisburg and are waiting to receive an estimated cost to correct the foundation. If they all agree on the estimate, it could take anywhere between two weeks to four months before it’s complete, Craig said. The residents will have to pay for the structure report, which is required before they can move back in.
“I would be thankful if this grant corrected the foundation issues for all of us. I mean, I still have issues inside my townhouse that I will have to repair on my own because my insurance doesn’t cover,” Craig said. She previously told the CDT that her insurance claim was denied and she will be financially responsible to repair the inside of her townhouse.
