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Commissioner Tom Balya Mayors' Forum
Minutes
Saturday, January 27, 2007, 9:00 a.m.
Lora's Restaurant, Greensburg
Attending Mayors:
Susan Bortz, Derry Borough
Karl Eisaman, Greensburg
John Goughenour, Laurel Mountain
Kevin Karazsia, Trafford
Don Kinosz, Lower Burrell
Jerry Lucia, Mt. Pleasant
Ed Lyons, North Belle Vernon
Jim Roman, South Greensburg
Dan Rose, Irwin
Joyce Somers, Murrysville
Corey Tragesser, Sutersville
Guest Speaker:
Larry Larese
Director, Westmoreland County Planning Department
Executive Director, WCIDC
Welcome:
Commissioner Balya greeted the gathering of mayors and welcomed
them to Greensburg. He then introduced Greensburg Mayor Karl
Eisaman to provide an overview of happenings in his city, as is
the custom for the host mayor.
Host Mayor Remarks:
Mayor Eisaman welcomed the group to the city of Greensburg and
talked about the development underway in Greensburg. He shared
with the group new parking maps of the city, as well as a
calendar of events for the Palace Theatre. He provided an update
on the status of several important projects, including the
construction of a new office building for the state Department
of Labor and Industry on Main Street, set to open in August 2007
(with 265 employees) and a new state Department of Health
building on Otterman Street. To accommodate the influx of
workers into downtown, the city is completing $4 million in new
parking facilities.
Commissioner Balya than introduced the morning's
speaker, Larry J. Larese, Director of the Westmoreland County
Planning Department and Executive Director of the Westmoreland
County Industrial Development Corporation.
Guest Speaker:
Larry Larese began his talk by distributing to the mayors copies
of a presentation he delivered at a recent economic development
forum that details the county's economic, business and
transportation progress. Key to the progress the county is
making is that important transportation projects are not only
being funded, but completed. Larese stressed that projects were
no longer languishing in design and acquisition. In addition to
Commissioner Balya's role on the Southwestern Pennsylvania
Commission to secure funding, the county's hiring of Bill Pieper
(a former PennDOT Employee) as a consultant has helped push
projects to completion. Also, the county's relationship with its
legislative delegation has been a tremendous asset.
Westmoreland County has received more highway
dollars in the past few years than ever before ($273 million
from 2004 through 2007).
And since the larger projects, such as Route 22,
are being completed, the focus can shift toward smaller
community projects.
Larese then turned to the county's industrial
park system, which experienced significant growth in the past
year. Much of the effort in the past year was on developing land
to accommodate the varying needs of businesses looking to expand
or relocate. There is now more than 350 additional acres of
useable land in the IDC's network of parks. The IDC's
concentration now is on marketing that space.
In the area of community development, Larese
explained that Westmoreland County utilizes approximately $1.7
million in federal HOMES funds yearly to support residential
projects. In order to maximize the impact of these dollars the
county is moving away from single-family projects that are often
extremely slowed by federal restrictions, including lead-based
paint mitigation.
Larese cited the example of the Lloyd Avenue
project in Latrobe as a model for the new methodology, where the
county is working with the non-profit Homes Build Hope and
Westmoreland Human Opportunities (WHO) to completely renovate
this residential corridor to the city. Homes Build homes focuses
on rental units, while WHO rehabilitates homes for resale to
income-eligible families.
To augment this type of effort in Latrobe, which
could be model for other communities, the county is also
targeting its federal Community Development funds towards
community revitalization. On the topic of Community Development,
Larese referenced the “Gateway Project” underway in Murrysville.
Larese praised the partnerships taken seed
between communities and the county to make projects work.
Included in these important partnerships is the Westmoreland
Trust to help utilize historic tax credits, and the
Redevelopment Authority of Westmoreland County that coordinates
demolition. The Redevelopment Authority also recently hired a
coordinator for downtown revitalization to better facilitate
local efforts.
Larese then referenced the Main Street Manager
Program that is grouping together towns, such as Trafford, that
otherwise could not afford it.
During a brief Q&A, Larese explained the
Monessen Riverfront Project that used $15 million in
private/public dollars over the past 15 years to revitalize the
city's riverfront with new business opportunities. The area is
now home to Maronda Homes and will soon house Consol Energy and
a "green" energy company.
(For more information on any of these topics,
Larry Larese can be contacted at 724.830.3603 or e-mail
llarese@co.westmoreland.pa.us.)
With no further business, the meeting adjourned
at approximately 10:30 a.m.
(Note: The next mayor's forum will be held in
Mount Pleasant Borough, with host Jerry Lucia. Date and time to
be determined.) |
