The Northwest News

PA State Budget
The latest Pennsylvania Budget was released by Senate of Pennsylvania, and the Local Development Districts are facing a budget line item in the amount of $2.292 million, which represents a 62% cut from last fiscal year.. I will be working with my counterparts to restore the line item so that the Northwest Commission can continue to offer the vast array of services to the businesses and municipalities of Northwest Pennsylvania. The money received from the state budget allows the Commission to provide services and funds to businesses and local governments across the region. In order to continue the current quality of service, the Northwest Commission will strive to restore this line item.

Project Funding Available
The Northwest Commission is pleased to once again make available approximately $100,000 for regional projects. Eligible projects should be multi-county in scope and show economic impact.

Applications are due July 31, 2009. Applicants will be required to make a presentation about the project. Award notification will take place in August. If interested in receiving an application, please contact Ned Goucher.

Check Presentation
A check presentation was held at CW Technologies Plus on Friday, May 29, in Venango County. Formerly, Radio Adventures Corporation, the company received a loan to purchase 2.27 acres of land and a 5788 sq. ft. commercial building. A 38’ x 34’ addition was added to the existing structure and extensive remodeling has been done.

Computer Showcase was formed in 1983 as a division of Matric Limited, a local electronics manufacturing business. Lee Richey, former co-owner of Matric Limited, decided to retain his interest in Computer Showcase and The Learning Center when he sold Matric Limited in 1993. After the sale of Matric Limited, Computer Showcase and Learning Center continued operations under a new corporation, Radio Adventures Corporation. Radio Adventures Corporation incorporated June 1, 1993. In June, 2005, Lisa Groner purchased and became the sole owner, President and CEO of Radio Adventures. At the new location, the company will now be called CW Technologies Plus.

Click here to view a picture of the check presentation!

Cheers,

In May, the Northwest Commission closed five loans:

Builders Support and Supply, Inc. of Crawford County closed on a $200,000 EDA/RLF loan to purchase commercial real estate. Eight jobs will be created as a result of this loan.
Gomer Trucking, LLC of Erie County closed on a $20,000 Microloan to start up a liquid manure spreading and hauling business. This is a Microloan; therefore job creation is not required.
H & H Machined Products Co. of Erie County closed on a $75,000 SBF loan to purchase the assets of an existing business. Seven jobs will be retained due to this loan.
Lombo’s Hideaway Café of Erie County closed on a $20,000 Microloan to start up a bakery/deli/pizza shop/6 pack store and a full service tavern. This is a Microloan; therefore job creation is not required.
Rynd Home Farm of Crawford County closed on a $200,000 FIF/Ag loan to construct a barn, parlor building, manure storage, silo and purchase machinery and equipment. This is an Agriculture loan, therefore no jobs are required.

The Loan Committee approved four loans in May:

Fischer’s Windy Ridge Farm of Beaver and Lawrence Counties
Gomer Trucking, LLC of Erie County
Visual Logic of Clarion County
Western Pennsylvania Steel Fabricating, Inc. of Lawrence County

Upcoming Events:
The Entrepreneur Training Series is scheduled for Wednesday, July 8, at the Northwest Commission office in Oil City. The topic for the seminar is "Energy Efficiency Tips for Small Businesses". The presentation will be made by JR Nordstrom of the Environmental Management Assistance Program (EMAP). The event is hosted by the Northwest Commission and the Clarion Small Business Development Center. The venue is a morning session with a catered breakfast for the participants. If you are interested in registering, please call Kris at the Clarion SBDC at 814.393.1797 or toll free at 877.292.1843. Registration will begin at 8:45am and the presentation will start at 9:00am.

June 24, 2009 - Government 101 – On the Road in Crawford County
The Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) at the Northwest Commission is partnering with the NWIRC, NTMA, and the Economic Progress Alliance to bring this introductory training to Crawford County to better accommodate the companies within the region. This seminar provides an overview of how to do business with the Federal and State governments. This half-day event will be for any company who is looking to start working with, or would like to refresh their memories about, the sites and certifications of the federal and state procurement process. Representatives from the Northwest Commission’s PTAC program and the PA Department of General Services (DGS) will present and be available for a question and answer session. Topics such as set-asides, bid leads, registrations, and how to work through government opportunities are customized to attending companies for this event. The seminar will be held at the Wm. Douglass Conference Center, Bessemer Commerce Park in Meadville. Registration will begin at 8:30am and presentations will start at 9:00am. For more information and to reserve your spot, please contact Candace Glover at candaceg@nwcommission.org or at 814.677.4800 x107.

September, 2009 - Government 101 – On the Road in Lawrence County
There is planning underway for a Government 101 event for Lawrence County. Please watch for updates regarding this event!

Regional Events

SBA HUBZone, 8(a), and Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) Certification & Contracting Workshop
June 19, 2009 – U.S. Small Business Administration will conduct an 8(a), SDB and HUBZone Certification & Contracting workshop from 9:00am - 12:00pm at Riverside Center for Innovation, 700 River Ave., 1 floor Conference Room, Pittsburgh (Northside). It is free to the public. MBE/WBE and Veteran-owned businesses are encouraged to attend. To register, please contact Marisa Fentzel at 412.395.6560 x109.

DSCC 2009 Land & Maritime Supply Chains Business Conference and Exhibition - August 17-19, 2009
This conference will be held at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, 400 North High St, Columbus, OH 43215. Early registration for small business (prior to July 11) is $500, regular registration (July 11 – August 7) is $550. For more information regarding the event, please visit www.ndia.org/meetings/9780.

PA Exports proving to be a valuable contributor to Pennsylvania’s economy
DCED’s Center for Trade Development reports that, even in the current economic downturn, the demand for its services is increasing, with more companies expressing an interest in doing business overseas for the first time, and those already doing so seeking additional foreign markets. World Trade PA is overseen by the Department of Community and Economic Development’s Office of International Business Development. Even with the increased demand for the program, World Trade PA faces potential elimination from the Commonwealth budget.

Thiel College (Greenville), an independent institution related to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and established in Western Pennsylvania in 1866, educates students in the liberal arts and professional studies for service to society. Mr. Mark McGrath from Thiel College participated in the Education Mission to Japan, Korea and Taiwan in March 2009. As a result of his one-on-one meetings organized by the PA Trade Offices in Japan, Korea and Taiwan, Thiel College was able to sign a "General Agreement for Academic Cooperation" and a "Two-Way Student Linkage Agreement" contracts with Dongguk University in Seoul, Korea. Mark McGrath, Registrar, states, “We are hoping to have exchange students come to Thiel from Dongguk University as early as the fall semester. Thank you all for your contributions to this successful effort.”

Pennsylvania International Week
Mark your calendars! The annual event for the international marketing program is fast approaching. Pennsylvania International Week is scheduled for the northwest region for September 9, 2009. The location will be Allegheny College, Schultz Banquet Hall in Meadville. Additional details are forthcoming.

PA Pavilion at bauma 2010
Recruitment has begun for the PA Pavilion at bauma 2010, to be held in Munich, Germany, from April 19 – 25, 2010. Bauma is the world’s largest and most important trade fair to the building industry. For a complete profile of bauma, go to the official show website: www.bauma.de. The Commonwealth is offering a turnkey package for a fee of $2,500. For additional information, please click here.

KIZ Company Start-Up
Deo Decises e-Publishing recently joined the ranks of the list of KIZ companies in the NWPA KIZ region. Located in Crawford County at the Talon Business Center, Deo Decises is a start-up advanced manufacturing/informational technology company marketing flash drive books and digital wireless pens.

Energy Assessment/Utility Bill Analysis
The Northwest Commission is available to assist municipalities, schools, and non-profit agencies by offering Energy Assessments and Utility Bill Analyses. Through these processes, the Commission can help to identify multiple energy conservation and money saving opportunities.

If you have a potential PA Conservation Works energy project for your current facilities, an Energy Assessment will be needed to assist in the determination of overall savings. The PA Conservation Works grant will require any funded projects to demonstrate energy savings of 25%.

For more information or to arrange an appointment, please contact Bill Rupert at 814.297.7158 x103 or at williamr@nwcommission.org.

LED Traffic Signal Bulk Purchase Discount Deadline is Near
The Hite Company, COSTARS vendor and partner with the NW Commission in the LED Traffic Signal Bulk Purchase Program, will close the Program’s 25% equipment discount on June 30, 2009. To date, 13 municipalities have placed LED equipment orders totaling more than $50,000. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by!

All interested municipalities may still participate in the LED Traffic Signal Bulk Purchase program. To place an order or add to a previous order by contacting Bill Rupert with the NW Commission’s Energy Program.

Economic Stimulus Transportation Spending Continues
As of May 28, 2009, nine highway/bridge projects were let in the five county Rural Planning Organization (RPO). These projects totaled $6,301,283. This is $1,138,519 less than estimated cost. Statewide,123 projects have been let at a cost of $263,906,882. On the national level, 49% of the funds have been spent on 3,870 projects.

PennDOT Approves Work Program
PennDOT approved the Northwest Commission’s 2009-2010 Unified Planning Work Program. Two requests were included for supplemental planning funds. The second year of a two-year GIS parcel mapping project was funded at $50,000 and a land use transportation project on Route 8 in the vicinity of Barkeyville was funded at $80,000.

Special Projects Approved
PennDot announced that a Pennsylvania Community Transportation Initiative application from Oil City in the amount of $205,000 was approved. Funds will be used to study Route 62 through the city to recommend infrastructure improvements. A Federal Safe Routes to School application from Utica Borough in the amount of $385,300 was approved. Funds will be used to improve sidewalks in the borough. The Northwest Commission’s Transportation Advisory Committee reviewed these applications and recommended them for funding.

Upcoming MTAP Classes
The Spring 2009 MTAP courses continue to be hugely popular within the region’s municipalities. The remaining topics to be covered this spring are:

June 26: What is Access 2007 Database?, Loc. TBD, 8:30am–12:00pm
June 26: Creating Queries in Access 2007, Loc. TBD, 1:00pm–4:30pm

The above June 26 classes that were scheduled at the Mercer County Community Education Council (MCCEC) in Sharon will be moving to another facility that is yet to be determined. The MCCEC has lost its funding and is in the process of closing down operations. We hope to announce a replacement location for these courses in the immediate future. For those of you who have already signed up, you will not need to do so again. The Commission will contact you with the new location, which will hopefully remain in Mercer County.

To register, please contact Amber Walters at 814.677.4800 x100 or by e-mail at amberw@nwcommission.org. Space is limited and registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. As always, these courses include lunch and are free of charge.

Fall 2009 MTAP Course Planning
The Commission is actively searching for new topics to include in the upcoming Fall 2009/Spring 2010 MTAP schedule. If you have a particular topic of interest, please share it with us so we can continue to make this program both meaningful and relevant.

Bona Fide Retail Request Program – Impact, Challenge and Opportunity
BFRR program staff recently completed a status report for the Department of Community and Economic Development. Impacts for the period of June 2008 through March 2009 include: 73 unique communities were served by the BFRR program during the reporting period; 15 communities met threshold and received deployment dates; Nearly 125,000 potential readers were presented information on the program through news articles and newsletters, and; 252 individuals participated in education or outreach programs. The BFRR program continues through September 30. The Commission is monitoring potential funding sources to continue the BFRR and/or similar broadband programs.

Two Requests Submitted
Two new requests for map and threshold information were submitted on behalf of Northwest PA communities since the last edition of the Northwest News. Four responses to request for map and threshold information were received during the same period of time. One additional deployment date was confirmed during this period of time. The Commission is currently managing 167 individual BFRR community points of contact.

Aside from the ongoing successes of the BFRR program, individuals and communities are increasing expressing a sense of frustration with respect to the pace of broadband deployment. Most successful BFRR communities are receiving deployment dates two years from the date of submission of the required number of forms. Several communities have been put on a “waiting list”. These concerns are being addressed to legislators, DCED program staff and, in some cases, the Pennsylvania Office of Consumer Advocate. The Commission is urging communities to continue their BFRR efforts despite these challenges as it is the only certain way to demonstrate demand for broadband services in their area.

For information about how to “petition” a phone company to install DSL service please contact W. Randy Rice at 814.297.7158 x105 or by email at randyr@nwcommission.org.

TAG Evaluates Municipal Technology Survey
The Annual Municipal Technology Assistance Program Technology Survey has been completed. Nearly 65% of the municipalities in the region returned completed surveys. Analysis is currently ongoing. Preliminary results indicate that computers and Internet connectivity were rated as “extremely important” to local government operation in 2009 as compared to consistently lower rating in previous surveys. A complete analysis of survey findings is anticipated to be completed by late August.

Edinboro Public Meeting
Community partners involved with the Edinboro Growth Initiative will be hosting a community forum on Thursday, June 18, at 5:00pm at the Edinboro Comfort Inn & Suites to discuss community revitalization opportunities in the downtown district. Commission staff will be providing a presentation and answering questions about central business district revitalization utilizing the Main Street methodology. Invitations have been extended throughout the Borough, Edinboro University, and Washington Township. Attendees are requested to RSVP by email to bplunkett@edinboro.edu.

Oil City’s Main Street Steering Committee
The committee has been evaluating the results from the April 22, SWOT analysis and are beginning to develop their mission, vision, and 5-year revitalization strategy. Members of Oil City’s FLEX group are also assisting with the Main Street vision statement development.

Artisan Hub
The greater Venango County region’s artisan trail movement continues to meet and develop a long-term plan for the region that will partner existing arts and artisan activities together including marketing, education, business retention, tourism, and economic development. The committee met again on June 3 and concluded the meeting with a tour of the soon to open retail incubator on Liberty Street in downtown Franklin.

Erie County Cultural Plan
Community Revitalization staff has been asked by ArtsErie to serve on the Steering Committee for this year-long planning process for the County. The first meeting was May 20 with the consultants, including Bill Bulick of Creative Planning, assisted by Surale Phillips of Decision Support Partners.

Northwest Regional Networking meeting
The next quarterly managers’ meeting is scheduled for July 9 in downtown Erie, hosted by the downtown partnership at the renovated Mercantile Building on State Street. Program Sustainability is the main topic and will include a guest from the Ohio Main Street program. The day will include a trolley tour of the 70 block DID and a visit to both the SNOOPS and Historic Little Italy neighborhoods. After a visit with Erie Mayor Joe Sinnott, the group will be treated to a tour of the waterfront developments and a short “cruise” on the bay.

LTAP Courses Completed – Stakeholder Input Welcome
The last LTAP course of the program year was completed on June 11. Program planning and stakeholder input is being sought for program planning.

LTAP class are offered free of charge to municipal officials and employees. To view and register for future courses, you are encouraged to go online at http://www.ltap.state.pa.us. Courses will be posted on the LTAP website as they are confirmed. Please check back if you don’t see a date for your topic of interest.

MOP Program Database
The Commission in the process of creating a new database that contains approximately 90% of the material that was previously covered as a part of the Municipal Outreach Survey. As a result, the survey will now be much more efficient and timely than it has been in the past.

The Commission is also developing new and more effective ways to address the issues and needs of the municipalities throughout the region. Please stay tuned!

If you have any questions, concerns, or ideas regarding the Municipal Outreach Program, would like to see a copy of the survey, or would like to schedule an interview, please feel free to contact William (Bill) Rupert. Bill can be reached at 814.297.7158 x103 or by email at williamr@nwcommission.org.

Mapping Assistance Provided to Franklin
Northwest Commission staff updated maps of downtown Franklin for the City of Franklin. The Commission created maps a few years ago that showed points of interest (retail, lodging, restaurants, etc.) in the downtown Franklin. These maps, which are handed out to visitors, are used for marketing the area. Additional assistance may be available to your municipality or community. Contact mattg@nwcommission.org for additional information.

National Trails Day Celebrated – Local Trails Recognized
More than 1000 trails nationwide have been designated as National Recreation Trails (NRT) (which connect people to local resources and improve the quality of life). Trails in the region with NRT designation include:

Presque Isle State Park Multi Purpose Trail
Ernst Recreational Trail
Samuel Justice Trail
Allegheny River Trail
Sandy Creek Trail
Oil Creek State Park Multi-Use Trail

Greenways Plan Update
All comments have been received on the Northwest Pennsylvania Greenways Plan. The Plan will be presented to the Northwest Commission's Board of Directors for adoption at a future board meeting. All comments and revisions have been made to the six individual county plans. Two of the six (Crawford & Warren) have been adopted, Clarion/Erie/Venango have their completed plans and are either at the adoption stage or in the 45 day review period, and Forest County has just received their revised plan to review.

Over the next few months the regional plan and the county plans should be recommended for adoption. The Northwest Commission will be engaging in dialogue with DCNR, DCED, and any interested counties about the idea of circuit riders to implement the findings of the newly created greenways plans.

Claudia Garcia is the Senior International Marketing Specialist for the Northwest Commission. Claudia has been with the Commission since 2003 and has assisted many companies in northwest Pennsylvania with international marketing and doing business across seas.

Feel free to contact Claudia by telephone at 814.454.7191 or email her at: claudiag@nwcommission.org

What is your favorite type of food?
Spanish of course. Nothing like eating my Grandma’s Colombian food!

Do you have any hidden talents?
I love to paint…I just wish I could have more free time to do it. I am a swimmer and a good dancer (I guess is part of the Latin culture.)

If you could trade places with any other person for a week, famous or not famous, living or dead, real or fictional, with whom would it be?
Bernard Marcus. He has a heart for animals. He owns the biggest Aquarium based in Atlanta – Georgia (I would love to train the animals). It must be nice to want to rescue all kind of animals and being able to afford it!

What CD is in your CD player right now?
Acustico by Alex Campos (He is one of the top Christian Singers in all of Latin America – He is Colombian).

If Hollywood made a movie about your life, whom would you like to see play the lead role as you?
Jessica Alba

What is the most satisfying thing about working at the Commission?
I admire and enjoy each of the people that work with me. The dedication and love for what each of them do makes me feel like I am part of a big family and gives me the feeling of being right at home. I have learned and grown because of the kindness from each one of them.

Thank you for subscribing to this e-publication

If you enjoyed this edition of the NW News or have a suggestion for this e-newsletter, please send comments HERE

To be removed from our mailing list, please e-mail click here.