26-02-2025
Archbald scales back mine relic restoration to meet budget
Archbald will scale back some of its restoration plans for a mine relic at the end of Laurel Street after construction bids came in well over budget.
Borough officials met with members of the Gravity Slope Colliery Committee on Monday to go over plans for Archbald's Gravity Slope Oil House Renovation Project amid efforts to bring down construction costs to restore the former oil storage building, borough Manager Dan Markey said.
In recent years, the borough and its colliery committee have explored restoring three buildings that were once part of the long-defunct Gravity Slope Colliery. Built in 1913, the colliery operated until 1955 when the Delaware and Hudson Coal Co. closed it due to excessive mine flooding, according to an Archbald Borough Historical Society infographic. Although coal miners have not used the facilities in 70 years, three brick buildings remain at the end of Laurel Street near the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail's Laurel Street Trailhead: a former oil storage building, a 'shifting shanty' where miners changed clothes and a 'fan house' that circulated air into the mines.
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The former coal miners' shifting shanty on Laurel Street near the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail in Archbald. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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The former coal miners' shifting shanty on Laurel Street near the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail in Archbald. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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The Gravity Slope Colliery Oil House on Laurel Street in Archbald. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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The former coal miners' shifting shanty on Laurel Street near the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail in Archbald. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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The former coal miners' shifting shanty on Laurel Street near the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail in Archbald. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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The borough eventually wants to restore all three buildings, with one building potentially housing adaptive bicycles as part of a partnership with the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority, which gave Archbald an easement for a parking lot near the mine buildings.
Last week, borough council voted to table a motion to award Archbald-based Stafursky Paving Co. Inc. with a $367,495 contract to restore the oil house, which exceeded Archbald's grant funding for the project, Markey said. However, the borough worked with Stafursky, which was the lowest responsible bidder, to bring down construction costs to $276,220, he said, explaining council is now expected to vote on the contract during its March meeting.
Archbald has a $235,000 grant through the state's Greenways, Trails and Recreation Program, which requires a 15% match from the borough, though the borough committed to about a 23% match, he said. The colliery committee also raised around $15,000, Markey said.
The restoration project was initially supposed to include adding a metal roof, new windows, new doors, connecting water and sewer utilities, and constructing a small addition on a concrete pad behind the building that will house bathrooms and a wheelchair-accesible entrance, as well as adding a gravel parking lot with paved Americans with Disabilities Act parking spaces.
The scaled-back work removes some minor foundation repairs, the roof replacement and the window replacement, Markey said. The borough will also restore the grass around the building on its own rather than using a contractor, Markey said, noting they could do additional work in later phases or if the town gets an in-kind donation.
Markey credited Stafursky with essentially contributing an in-kind donation due to the low cost of the work compared to other bidders, whose bids ranged from $503,406 to $693,000.
During Monday's meeting, council members sought clarity from the colliery committee on how they would like to use the restored oil house, Markey said. Previous ideas ranged from a coffee shop to bike rentals.
The committee now wants to get the building up to code to get a certificate of occupancy, and then the borough will advertise the building for a lease, with whoever leases the building paying to build it to suit their needs, Markey said.
'So if it's going to be a coffee shop … then they can invest the money to put that stuff in,' he said.
The addition of a business at the oil house will enhance the LHVA's trailhead, said Director of Operations Owen Worozbyt. Worozbyt hopes to use the Laurel Street Trailhead as a 'full service trailhead,' tying into the LHVA's nearby platform for events and ADA-accessible fishing pier along the Lackawanna River.
To further improve accessibility, Worozbyt said the LHVA has spent the past eight years working with disability advocacy group Individual Abilities in Motion — or I Am for short — to provide trail users with adaptive hand cycles and recumbent bikes for free. Although it's mostly based in Scranton, they take the bikes to different locations, including Archbald, he said. Storing those bikes at one of the mine buildings would improve the logistics, Worozbyt said.
If council does award the project to Stafursky Paving Co. Inc. next month, Markey anticipates construction wrapping up by late fall.
