19366_Authority_August

municipalauthorities.org │ 31 procedure but has since been made a requirement under our Trust Indentures and must be filed with the Securities Exchange Commission annually. MCMA’s annual report for 2025 looks strikingly similar to the original. In 1944, because of the passage of the Municipality Authorities Act of 1935, the Borough of Lewistown finally created The Municipal Authority of the Borough of Lewistown (MABL). Over the next two years, negotiations occurred with the LRWC to assume ownership of the Company and ultimately control the water system and its customers. On February 27, 1946, this newly created authority closed on a $1.65 million bond issue and assumed full ownership and operations of the water system. Minutes from the first meeting of the authority on March 18, reflect that the newly formed board of directors recognized the importance of their professional advisors. Their very first motion was to hire and retain Morris Knowles Engineers, Inc to be their consulting engineers and the general managers of the authority. Even in their infancy, they understood the importance of having experience and expertise leading them forward. Interestingly, the second motion by this board was to join the PMAA “with a membership fee of $30 and annual dues at the rate of one mil on gross revenue or approximately $150 per year”. Great decision by that board! Morris Knowles continued to be the general managers of the authority for several more years until they ultimately hired an in-house superintendent to conduct the daily business. Knowles stayed on as the retained consultant. In 1953 that all changed when the authority found itself at the center of one of the biggest, controversial protests in the history of Mifflin County. Water resources that had been utilized for the last half century were struggling to keep up with the rapid growth within the community. They were faced with the challenge of finding new water sources. The most logical and financially responsible source was the Juniata River. Knowles presented this recommendation to the authority and soon after, chaos ensued. Over the next several years, borough council replaced two sitting board members with likeminded individuals who shared in their beliefs that the river intake option was an abysmal idea. This new board forced the resignation of the superintendent and fired the consultant. A new engineering firm, Lewis Gwin Engineers of Altoona (Gwin), was then hired. Lewis Gwin Engineers immediately began studying the system and its untapped water resources. The idea of using the Juniata River was quashed and the quest for expanded water supply followed. The Board relied heavily on Gwin over the next decade while they envisioned a large impoundment dam and reservoir as well as a filtration and treatment plant in the mountains of Milroy. This too was highly controversial as their proposal imposed a rate increase to the tune of 220% to the rate payers! Notwithstanding the impact, the design phase began in 1961. Over the next 10 years, The Laurel Creek Water Treatment Plant and Reservoir, were built and made operational. Gwin also coordinated with the Department of Transportation to realign the proposed new four lane highway towards State College, US 322, to increase the capacity of the reservoir. That highway now serves as a portion of the impounding dam. This concept or coordinated effort had never happened before. Lewis Gwin Engineers later became Gwin, Dobson and Foreman (GD&F) and Mark Glenn and his team continued to serve as consultants through some of the largest projects that MABL had ever completed. Following the issuance of its first water allocation permit by the Commonwealth in 1991, MABL was once again forced to look for new and expanded water supply. In 1996, with GD&F leading those efforts, issued a 300-page plan to not only expand our source waters, but to also increase our customer base. This required the authority to re-issue bonds and engage with PENNVEST to secure the necessary funding to undertake nearly $20 million in system-wide capital additions and improvements. Continued on page 66 [Vendors] WILL ultimately become your friends and your biggest allies when you need them the most.