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Allegheny Township officials are seeking nearly $70,000 in state gambling funds to finance five municipal projects.

The money is available under the Local Share Program administered by the Department of Community and Economic Development for communities in counties where state casinos are located.

The Live! Casino, which the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board classifies as a Category 4 facility, opened in November 2020 at Westmoreland Mall in Hempfield, making Westmoreland County communities eligible for the grant program.

Allegheny Township Manager Greg Primm said this is the first time the township is applying for the grants. The township nearly missed the deadline to apply for a share of an available $3.4 million.

Primm said he was not aware of the Local Share Program until he had a conversation with state Rep. Abby Major, R-Ford City, whose district will include the township after Jan. 1.

“Abby Major told me on Sept. 23, and (the applications) were due on the 30th,” Primm said. “That is the first time I heard about it.”

He said he received no notification from the state about the program.

The grant applications submitted by the township include:

• $15,215 to buy new mobile radios for the Markle Fire Department;

• $19,000 for the purchase and installation of a new garage door at the Allegheny Township Volunteer Fire Company station;

• $15,058 for the installation of a storm sewer pipe on Frederick Drive;

• $14,385 to buy a new Speed Alert24 Radar Message Sign for the police department;

• $5,999 for a heavy truck diagnostic system for the township public works department.

Primm, who has applied for countless grants for the township, said there is one difference he noticed with the Local Share Program — it requires a fee of $100 per application. That means the township is putting up $500 of its money to try to land the grants.

“I’ve never seen that before,” he said.

“It gets me because it’s gambling money, and they’re making us gamble to see if we get it.”