A $250,000 grant for the rehabilitation of Diamond Park was among three state grants announced by state Rep. Marci Mustello, R-11th, last week.

Planned improvements at the park include a new pavilion, pedestrian walkways, upgraded lighting and utilities, Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible features, landscaping, signage, and more.

Later in the week, Butler County commissioners voted to apply for an additional grant of up to $800,000 to spruce up the park. The application, through the state’s Main Street Matters program, calls for replacing the fountain with a gazebo and upgrades to lighting and landscaping. The project ties in to the city’s recent Main Street revitalization.

Part of the funding for some upcoming downtown projects will come from the sale of the Butler Area Sewer Authority to Pennsylvania American Water. The purchase was finalized earlier this month. Butler and Butler Township will share $230 million in proceeds from the sale.

Butler Mayor Bob Dandoy said City Council has set its sights on using a portion of that money on a few overdue projects, namely parking-related, including the Tier Parking Garage and Butler’s paid parking system.

“One of the projects we had in the pipeline before the BASA sale was the redoing of all the sidewalks on Main Street,” Dandoy said. “It’s the last piece of the puzzle. We have the new decorative lights, and PennDOT came in and did the new traffic signals. The only thing left to do is the sidewalks.”

Dandoy also cited improvements to Father Marinaro Park and the Farmers Market on South Chestnut Street as possible uses for the money.

“We’ll be able to do the things that, for a lot of years, we were unable to do because of financial restrictions and challenges,” Dandoy said. “Now we have the money.”

Dandoy also points to Penn Theater’s repair and reopening after being neglected many years as an asset to the city, because, he said, it is a large space that can host events as well as serve its original purpose as a movie theater.

Another positive sign in the downtown revamp is the planned creation of a Cultural District, which will represent opportunities for arts and expressions in the northern blocks of the city. The district is bordered by East Jefferson, North Main, Howard, North McKean and Franklin streets.

“By investing in all of these various components that make up city life, what we’re going to be able to do is make this city more attractive and more marketable,” Dandoy said. “We should be able to look at people and say, ‘Please invest in our downtown area. Come open your small business here.’”

We appreciate the effort city leaders are making to make downtown Butler a destination stop for shoppers, diners and residents in general.

— JGG