Commissioner Tom Balya Mayors' Forum Minutes
Saturday, April 17, 2004, 9:00 a.m.
Lora’s Restaurant, Greensburg

Attending Mayors:
Robert Camphena, Export
Karl Eisaman, Greensburg
Joseph Kazan, New Stanton
Donald Kinosz, Lower Burrell
James Roman, South Greensburg
Everett Saxton, Bolivar
Joyce Somers, Murrysville

Guest Speaker: Larry Larese, Executive Director,
Westmoreland County Planning Department and Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corporation

Welcome by Commissioner Balya: Commissioner Balya began the meeting by thanking the mayors for their attendance and briefed them on some issues in county government. Tom talked about budget challenges facing the county, but that the county was able to hold the line on taxes in 2004. Westmoreland County still faces a $9 million operating deficit, and Tom informed the mayors the budget is an ongoing problem-solving process. He then introduced host mayor, Karl Eisaman.

Host Mayor Welcome: Greensburg Mayor Karl Eisaman welcomed the mayors to the city and expressed his gratitude to those in attendance. He talked to the group about several new projects underway in Greensburg. Topping the list is a project by Seton Hill University to expand its campus downtown, in the historical district. (Governor Ed Rendell visited Greensburg later that day to deliver $5 million toward the project.) Other projects underway to improve the area include the Maple Avenue bridge reconstruction and a new flood control project in the southern end of the city near Shaller’s bakery.

Guest Speaker: Commissioner Balya introduced Larry Larese, Executive Director of the Westmoreland County Planning Department and the Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corporation. Tom described Larry as a "tremendous resource who is respected by the business community throughout the region" and praised him for his efforts to help diversify the county’s economy.

Larry began his presentation by talking about the county’s comprehensive planning process. The mission of the plan is to establish a list of policy statements and should not be confused with zoning or an effort to eliminate local zoning standards.

The county is required by law to have a comprehensive plan in place, and, given the dramatic changes that have occurred in Westmoreland County, it was a good time to begin work on a plan. Larry reminded the mayors that there are varying opinions on the future growth of the county and how to respond to it. He reminded the group that finding the proper balance between sometimes competing interests is the key to proper planning.

Larry shared with the group a map that illustrates the growth pattern of the county. Since 1967, most of the growth has been concentrated within a triangular area from New Kensington to east of Latrobe to Monessen. Other land use statistics Larry shared regarding the county’s 656,000 acres include:

• 210,748 acres (32 percent) preserved

• 77,066 acres (12 percent) developed

• 52,104 acres pre-1967 developed land

• 24,962 acres post-1967 developed land

• 693.39 acres developed per years since 1967

• One-tenth of one percent of the county is being developed per year

• 1.2 percent land development growth rate per year

• 368,186 acres of vacant, or unprotected farms or forests, and very low density residential

Larry also noted that during a series of seven public meetings 89 percent of the participants identified economic development as their top priority, followed by transportation improvements and public safety.

The county has developed a 10-point vision statement for the comprehensive plan. Larry presented the vision statement to the mayors and a discussion ensued. The 10 points are as follows:

1. Maintain the county’s predominate rural character, conserve key natural resources, and preserve agricultural land.

2. Accommodate future development primarily with the urban/suburban growth triangle, but also preserve contiguous tracts of unimproved open space within this area.

3. Prioritize transportation improvements that reduce travel time from key areas of the county, thus reducing congestion on local highways.

4. Implement planning techniques and enforce development standards that produce clustered commercial development and discourage the proliferation of curb cuts on commercial highways.

5. Provide for a variety of housing types and residential neighborhoods, encourage mixed use development, utilize design techniques that instill a sense of place, and reduce travel time for everyday purchase.

6. Revitalize cities, downtown areas, and urban neighborhoods and restore their status as attractive and convenient places to live.

7. Promote new and enhance existing economic employment centers that are accessible to various areas of the county, thereby minimizing adverse traffic impacts on local neighborhoods and communities.

8. Elevate architectural and landscaping standards to achieve a higher quality of land and building development that improves the visual appearance of the county.

9. Preserve and expand the county’s affordable housing stock.

10. Maintain the basic attributes that make the county an attractive place to live, work, and play (i.e., low taxes, low crime rate, quality schools, career opportunities, housing and neighborhood variety, and abundant leisure and recreation opportunities)

The plan will be presented to the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee in May, with additional public meetings to follow.

Larry also shared with the mayors updates on the Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corporation (IDC). He distributed a map of the county’s industrial park system, as well as economic development information including a listing of Westmoreland County’s priorities for the state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Budget. Westmoreland County received $5 million in Redevelopment Capital Assistance (or only one percent of total funds) from 1999-2002. This total puts Westmoreland County fifth in the 10-county southwestern Pennsylvania region and 17th among all counties.

Another handout illustrated that from 1998-2002, the state DCED funded projects totaling $58 million in Westmoreland County. This total ranks Westmoreland County 17th in the commonwealth. Larry talked about the importance of working with county legislators to secure funding for economic development projects and touted the county’s successful track of completing projects when financing is secured.

Finally, Larry talked about the availability of new countywide aerial photos. The county performed a flyover in 2003. These aerial photos can be a great resource for community planning. A pricing structure is in development, for both local governments and the business community.

A brief question-and-answer session followed concerning the comprehensive plan. Larry told the group that elements of the plan are applicable to all types of communities and that he is hopeful that the 10-point vision statement is adopted at the local level. He also reminded the mayors the key to successful planning is engaging the public.

Larry can be contacted at 724.830.3603 or via e-mail at llarese@co.westmoreland.pa.us. More information on the comprehensive plan and the IDC is available on-line through the Westmoreland County home page at www.co.westmoreland.pa.us.

Other Business: Commissioner Balya followed Larry’s presentation by updating the mayors on the status of the countywide readdressing project to improve emergency dispatch services. He reminded the mayors that municipal governments are responsible for renaming streets and renumbering addresses to avoid duplication. The process must ultimately be approved by the United States Postal Service. Mayor Somers offered some additional tips for the group, including renaming those streets that impact the least amount of people and letting residents provide input on the new names.

The meeting closed with a moment of silence for former Arnold Mayor Willie DeMao and North Belle Vernon Mayor Pat Angelo, who both passed away since the last mayors’ forum.

With no further business, the meeting adjourned at approximately 10:30 a.m.

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