The Gettysburg Borough Council is expected to continue using its annual Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) allocation to improve Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility after council members voiced support for staff’s recommendation during a public hearing yesterday evening.
The hearing marked the second federally required public meeting on the borough’s proposed use of its 2026 CDBG allocation of $127,226. As one of only two direct entitlement communities in Adams County, Gettysburg receives the funding directly for eligible community development projects.
Borough staff outlined a recommendation to devote this year’s funding to additional ADA curb ramp improvements at several intersections and alley crossings throughout the borough.
Borough officials said ADA improvements have historically been the primary use of Gettysburg’s CDBG funding, although the borough has occasionally combined multiple years of funding with other grants for larger infrastructure projects, including improvements along South Street and Washington Street. Last year, council instead directed its CDBG allocation to the Children’s Advocacy Center, a project that subsequently secured a $1.2 million state grant.
Council President Matt Moon said the borough should view last year’s award to an outside organization as “the exception to the rule,” noting that CDBG grants carry extensive federal compliance requirements. Because the borough remains responsible for ensuring all reporting and accounting requirements are met, Moon said projects administered by outside organizations pose additional risks if reporting requirements are not fulfilled.
Officials also explained why staff continues to recommend ADA improvements.
Borough Engineer Chad Clabaugh said the borough has made substantial progress replacing curb ramps and is now concentrating largely on alley intersections. Once those improvements are complete, he said, sidewalk replacement on entire blocks could become the next priority.
Staff also suggested combining two years of CDBG allocations into a single larger project in the future. Clabaugh said construction administration alone can cost $30,000 to $40,000, making larger projects a more efficient use of the funding.
Rather than spending roughly half that amount on engineering for multiple small projects, he said, the borough could combine two annual allocations into a project worth approximately $250,000 and complete significantly more work.
Council members questioned whether future CDBG funding could be divided among multiple projects or combined with county funding, but staff cautioned that CDBG’s extensive administrative requirements make multiple projects more difficult to manage and that any project selected must be fully developed before funding is committed.
Council also discussed whether other types of infrastructure could eventually qualify for CDBG funding. Clabaugh said replacing deteriorated sidewalks one block at a time would likely become the next logical priority after the borough completes its remaining ADA curb ramps, although he noted the borough continues to pursue other competitive state and federal grants for sidewalk improvements.
Although no formal vote was taken during the hearing, council members expressed unanimous support for staff’s recommendation to continue using this year’s allocation for ADA accessibility improvements.
“I think the staff has made a good recommendation,” Councilman William Mooney III said. “I think it aligns with the overall plan for the improvement of the borough.”
Following the discussion, Moon directed staff to prepare a motion for the borough’s next business meeting allocating the 2026 CDBG funds to the proposed ADA curb ramp projects.