Some $337,000 of Federal stimulus money will be used to bypass a deteriorating sewer pump station on South King Street according to a proposal before the Shepherdstown Town Council. Meeting in special session on Tuesday night, Dec. 15, the Town Council voted to approve the project and the use of the stimulus money to fund it. The Town Council will hold a final reading of the measure on Jan. 12, 2010, during the regular monthly Town Council meeting.

According to Mayor Jim Auxer, the project is eligible to receive Federal stimulus money in part because construction can begin almost immediately, and also because the project is “green.” Auxer says that upgrading the South King Street mechanical sewer pump to a gravity fed system will save money, cut back on carbon emissions, and will operate more efficiently. According to Shepherdstown Public Works Director Frank Welch, the current pump on South King Street is “old and falling apart.”

The Corporation of Shepherdstown has already taken bids on the project, with W & L Construction and Paving, based out of Roanoke, Va., winning the contract. If the project is approved by the Town Council in January, then Mayor Auxer says construction will start soon thereafter.

Editors note: The above is a corrected version of a story that ran on Page 3 of the Dec. 18 edition.