Pennsburg Council voted Tuesday night to apply for a larger loan through the U.S. Department of Agriculture than initially anticipated. It unanimously approved a motion to apply for the loan and request $1.351 million through the federal agency.

            Legal, architectural and engineering fees totaling approximately $53,000, along with a recommendation to construct a building to store salt, led to the increase of approximately $351,000, according to council President Diane Stevens. A Wyomissing architectural firm presented an estimate with a recommendation to spend $291,081 to construct a building with reinforced walls. She said municipal officials had initially planned on building a shell with an approximate cost of $50,000.

            Stevens said previously that municipal officials hoped to utilize a loan of between $900,000 and $1 million from a federal agency to make numerous upgrades to the facility, located at 76 W. 6th St., as well convert the borough's recycling center into a maintenance garage. Council expects to utilize  a favorable interest rate and have the option to repay the loan over 40 years. After Tuesday's meeting, the council president estimated the maximum monthly payment over that period at $5,235.

            The proposed work includes replacing the roof and repairing minimal underlayment damage at the Civic Building, also located at 76 W. 6th St., at a cost of $167,680. A budget estimate sheet obtained after the meeting also calls for replacing windows, glass blocks and doors ($115,134), installing EIFS -- a type of synthetic stucco -- over the bricks instead of repointing them ($109,680), purchasing a new emergency generator ($42,492), installing a main entrance canopy ($31,383), interior renovations ($29,900) and site work ($20,500).

            The document identifies the cost of converting the borough's former recycling center into a maintenance garage at $453,500. A proposed sally port and a canopy for the Upper Perk Police Department have been removed, according to F. Robert Seville, a council member and chair of the borough's Facilities Committee.

            After the public portion of the meeting, Seville described the projects as a wish list for municipal officials. He said there's no guarantee the borough will receive the loan, or if it does, what the final amount would be.

            The borough is expected to meet a Nov. 30 pre-approval deadline. Council members will learn if the loan has been awarded in the spring, according to Stevens. She said the projects would be put out for bid in late spring or the summer of 2021.