Carl J. Ferraro was a longtime public servant of Sharpsburg and a political force for decades.
The legacy of the late public works superintendent and former Sharpsburg Democratic Committee chair lives on not only through his family and friends, but through a new public works building near the corner of 19th and Chapman streets that was dedicated on June 17.
“We want you to know that our dad would be so humbled by this special honor,” said Kim Ferraro D’Angelo, Ferraro’s youngest daughter, who spoke on behalf of the family at the event. “We truly believe that he is looking upon this gathering today and certainly bursting with pride. He’d be so happy to know that his life-long love for this little town is still appreciated and remembered even after all these years.”
The new building is about 4,800 square feet and was constructed on a former lumber yard. It is next to the salt shed and can house the department’s various vehicles including an excavator, street sweeper and several trucks.
“We needed to provide a better space for our Department of Public Works,” Mayor Brittany Reno said. “These guys bust their butts every single day. They work so hard and they do so much. There’s not a lot of them for this whole town, and they keep this town working like a well-oiled machine. They deserve a state-of-the-art facility that suits their needs, keeps them warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
“It’s so much more than a building. Land in Sharpsburg is a little hard to come by. This site means a lot to our community for a lot of different reasons.”
Former Councilman Joe Simbari, the event’s emcee and Farraro’s godson, said the property was purchased several years ago for about $200,000. The borough awarded Graham Construction a $683,000 building contract. The land acquisition and construction were made possible from the proceeds of the borough’s sale of riverfront property to what is now called Riverfront 47.
“It’s a great facility,” Public Works Superintendent Jordan D’Ambrosio said. “We were right along the river (before). We had a really old building.”
The new building’s awnings, gutters, storm drains are blue, Ferraro’s favorite color.
The site holds storm water in an underground tank to help prevent flooding. Future plans include adding more parking and possible affordable housing.
Reno said the borough is looking to add solar panels to the public works building to cut down on energy costs and environmental impact.
Ferraro worked for the borough from the late 1960s into the 1980s. He was a member of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee and a former chairman of the Sharpsburg Democratic Committee. He was involved in many borough activities.
Ferraro’s favorite saying, immortalized on a plaque on the new building, was, “Winners never quit and quitters never win.”
He passed away in August 1998 at age 79.
“In his time, he certainly gave his all in any way that he could to help make Sharpsburg a very special place to live,” D’Angelo said.
Several of Ferraro’s friends, including former SharpsburgCouncilman and Allegheny County Judge Robert C. Gallo and Dr. Cyril Wecht talked about what a great man he was and how Ferraro was always willing to help people find work.
“He was an excellent worker and an excellent person because he took pride in his job,” Gallo said. “He loved the town. He wanted to see the town was managed properly.”
As Sharpsburg’s Democratic Committee leader, “(h)e just didn’t sit on his hind legs,” Gallo said. “He went out, and he met people. He met every official in Allegheny County, every department head. That led to grants and loans to Sharpsburg. We were just a small town, and it’s unbelievable the loans and grants we got. I can’t even remember them all.”
It is unclear what will be done with the old building site.
