Apr 5, 2023 3 min read

Downtown Washington will soon be a little brighter, thanks to a $99,000 grant to improve streetscape lighting.

Christy Bean Rowing, executive director of the Washington Citywide Development Corp, told City Council Monday night that the money is from the Pennsylvania State Local Share Account fund.

Rowing said the idea to apply for the money stemmed from an incident at the 2021 Christmas parade in the city.

“A little kid was lost in the darkness and at that moment I thought, ‘We’ve got to fix this,'” Rowing said. “We realized we needed better lighting, especially on North Main (Street).”

The money will be used to improve the lighting of the seven blocks of the downtown business district, as well as the cross streets.

“We are hopeful that by the time the fall comes around and it gets a darker a little bit earlier that we will have the whole downtown area lit and safe for people who come to visit us, as well as our regular residents,” Rowing said.

Also Monday, members of the Rotary Club of Washington inquired about the city’s interest in partnering with the club and Pennsylvania Resource Council (PRC) in glass recycling at Washington Park.

Rotarian Parker Burroughs told council the Arden Landfill is approaching its capacity. A full landfill would result in garbage hauled elsewhere and high garbage bills for city residents, he said.

Burroughs added a large amount of glass currently is going into the landfill and that can be changed with a glass recycling container at Washington Park.

“Residents of the area can dispose of their glass,” Burroughs said. “The way we envision it is the public would have access to that area Monday through Friday during the day, and perhaps on Saturday for several hours members of Rotary can be there to assist the public.”

The cost to haul the glass would probably be about $8,000 to $9,000 a year, a price Burroughs said neighboring municipalities with similar programs are paying.

“It really all depends on how much glass is deposited in that container,” Burroughs said.

Simon Joseph, PRC’s glass program coordinator, said a partnership the organization has with glass manufacturer Owens-Illinois will allow PRC to donate $5,000.

“Because so much of our recycled glass goes to glass manufacturers such as them and it’s so beneficial to them cost-wise, they’ll sometimes give us a sponsorship or donation to help us facilitate some of these programs,” Joseph said Tuesday. “We’re able to use a certain amount of money as we see fit and we figure that it would be best to give Washington enough money to subsidize hauling costs for at least the first year.”

Burroughs added that Range Resources will donate $1,500 and the Rotary will donate some money.

Councilman Ken Westcott, who chaired the meeting in Mayor Scott Putnam’s absence, said council would need to discuss the matter.

“I don’t see the downside to it; I think it’s a positive” Westcott said. “Unfortunately, glass goes into the garbage now. The city won’t take it and it ends up in the landfill. If it’s not being thrown on the streets or anywhere else, that’s a great thing for the city of Washington.”