The Northwest News


Happy Anniversary! Forty years ago this month the Northwest Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission was established. Like people, organizations use these milestones to celebrate as well as reflect. We certainly have a lot to celebrate, and reflecting on the achievements as well as the struggles we’ve endured as an organization, and as a region, fills us with pride. We will be hosting an open house on May 10, 2007 from 4-7 PM at our offices to celebrate with all those that contribute to our organization’s mission and support us in that mission. If you would like to join us, please RSVP your attendance to Katarina at 814-677-4800, ext. 100 or at katarinai@nwcommission.org by May 7^th. Next Board Meeting Join us June 1, 2007 at 10 AM for a meeting of the board of directors. The meeting will take place at the Enterprise Development Center located at 5240 Knowledge Pkwy in Erie, PA. Please RSVP your attendance to Kellie at 814-677-4800, ext. 106 or at kelliem@nwcommission.org by May 28^th. Check Presentation Industrial Truck & Crane, Inc., a division of Graff Diversified, was presented with a check for a loan the company recently closed on for $150,000 from the Economic Development Administration/Revolving Loan Fund. The loan was used to purchase a 175-ton all-terrain crane, which will allow the company to be a full-service crane rental company. The new crane is the largest all-terrain crane in the Cleveland-Pittsburgh-Buffalo area. Larger cranes are essential to modular housing installers, industrial contractors, and industrial facilities. This size of crane could only be found in larger cities previously. Industrial Truck & Crane currently employs four and will create three additional jobs as a result of the loan. Click here to view the photo from this event. Legislative Visits I have been busy meeting with the region’s legislators and working with the other six Local Development Districts in Pennsylvania to restore the LDD budget in the state’s budget. Currently the Governor proposes a $1.1 million dollar cut to the funding that is key to many of the programs offered by the Northwest Commission. Mercer County Outreach Office Beginning May 7, 2007 the Northwest Commission will have an outreach office in Mercer County, located at Penn-Northwest Development Corporation’s new offices. International Trade Specialist Marija Jankovic will work out of this office every Tuesday and Thursday to assist businesses in Mercer and Lawrence Counties with their exporting needs. Sincerely,
Point of contact: Denise McCloskey x123 I Back to top


One Loan Closed; Two Loans Approved In March the Northwest Commission closed one loan: A $200,000 SBF loan closed for Imperial Systems, Inc. of Mercer County. The loan was used to purchase land and construct a building in Jackson Center. Eleven jobs will be retained. The loan Committee approved two loans in March: K. B. Pizza, Inc. of Venango County; and World Gutter Systems, Inc. of Erie County. The Secretary of Agriculture, Dennis Wolf, called a meeting in Crawford County with Dennis Hall, Senior ED Analyst, and Jared Grissinger, ED Analyst, of PAgrows. They invited agriculture lenders in the region, the county agriculture extension offices, the Northwest Commission loan staff, agriculture enterprises and agriculture producers to talk about the First Industries Fund loan program. Dennis Hall and Jared Grissinger came back two weeks later to meet with agriculture production farms with expansion or upgrade plans for their facilities. We met with 14 potential project applicants while Jared Grissinger was out on calls to other potential applicants. The meetings have increased our exposure to the agriculture community in the region. PAgrows also gave us exposure to the agriculture lenders who may be willing to share loan projects. Entrepreneur Club: May 16th from 5:45 - 8:00 PM The next Entrepreneur Club will be held on May 16th at the Franklin Industrial and Commercial Development Authority. The Entrepreneur Club allows small regional businesses to network and discuss issues and concerns with other business owners and professionals. Each event has a speaker on a topic chosen by the participants. Please plan to attend and spread the word! Click here to view additional upcoming events available to small businesses in the area!
Point of contact: Daryl Coyne x112 I Back to top


Government 101 training: May 9th from 9 AM to noon Mark your calendars! This introductory class, conducted at the Northwest Commission, provides an overview of how to do business with the Federal, State and Local governments. Topics such as set-asides, bid leads, registrations, and how to work through government opportunities are customized to attending companies for this half-day training event. Representatives from the SBA, Pennsylvania Department of General Services (DGS), and COSTARS will provide information on purchasing/selling, minority and woman-owned business qualifications and federal government contracting. There is no cost for this event, but you must register in advance as space is limited. Please contact Lori Moore (x104) for further details or to register.
Point of contact: Erin Chorney x116 I Back to top



Business Development Mission to Saudi Arabia: November 1-7, 2007 Riyadh and Jeddah The Saudi economy is booming! Saudi Arabia is the top trading and investment partner for Northeast U.S. companies doing business in the Middle East, and the U.S. is the Kingdom’s largest trading partner. Total bilateral trade with the U.S. in 2006 was more than $40 billion. Pennsylvania’s Department of Community & Economic Development and its Center for Trade Development (CTD) is joining with the U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council to serve as the Commonwealth’s in-country trade representative in Saudi Arabia. CTD, in partnership with the Council and the 9-state coalition of the Eastern Trade Council bring this trade mission opportunity to Pennsylvania exporters seeking buyers, partners and key business contacts in Saudi Arabia. Pennsylvania firms have the opportunity to initiate or increase sales in this booming market by joining CTD as we lead a delegation of US businesses from the Northeast on a Business Development Mission to Saudi Arabia. Click here for additional information (attached brochure).
Point of contact: Dorte Heffernan x110 I Back to top


Erin Chorney has been participating on the planning team for a regional Keystone Innovation Zone, which is a state program designed to link the research and development opportunities at our universities to budding entrepreneurs in targeted industries. On board during the planning process are Allegheny College, University of Pittsburgh at Titusville, Thiel College and Clarion University. The targeted industries are information technology, biotechnology, alternative energies, Cleantech/Greentech and advanced manufacturing. The Northwest Commission will be contracting with GSP Consulting of Pittsburgh to facilitate this initiative. Currently there are 47 active contributors in the planning process. In conjunction with the www.selectPAgreatlakes.com website, the demographic information provided through Economic Research Institute (ERI) of Erie was renewed for $4,306. ERI provides the most recent statistics on occupations, wages, demand jobs, top employers, cost of living index, educational attainment and business resources. Total website hits this quarter were 16,525, up 13% from the previous quarter. There were 536 new visitors to the website during the month of March. Erin Chorney, Director of Business and Economic Development, will attend the CoreNet Global Summit trade show in Denver April 27 – May 2 as a TeamPA partner. CoreNet Global is the world's premier association for corporate real estate and related professionals. In addition to networking and representing both Northwestern Pennsylvania and the Commonwealth, Erin will also be participating in the “Ride in Style” appointments, providing limousine rides to real estate executives from the airport to the conference.
Point of contact: Erin Chorney x116 I Back to top


The Municipal Outreach Program continues to see a good response from the municipalities surveyed thus far. Several have also contacted the Community Development Specialist on their own accord to seek help on various issues including the need for new municipal buildings. The Municipal Outreach Survey is already showing several trends throughout the area including the need for several upgrades to municipal buildings. We plan to hold a workshop on that specific issue sometime in the near future. We have been able to survey 25 municipalities to date and are working on a broad spectrum of issues including finding funding for a municipality in desperate need of a new municipal building due to a dangerous mold infestation. We are working very closely with our partner agencies to find solutions to these problems. The Northwest Commission partnered with several agencies to hold the Connect/2/Communities Conference on March 23rd at Allegheny College. Approximately 60 people attended this first annual conference, and the participants included local government, county government, service providers, engineers, and legislators. Topics during the conference included reverse auctioning, stormwater management, grant administration, transportation planning, and a variety of other topics. Matt Gilara, Manager of GIS/Community Development delivered the keynote presentation on the Commission's Neighborhood GIS system. Comments from participants included: "Very informative. I can see where this information will be very helpful to the municipalities." "More municipalities and non-profits will attend [this conference] when they hear about this [next year]." The Northwest Commission would like to thank the sponsors and conference partners for making the first annual C/2/C Conference a huge success!
Point of contact: Valerie Hearn x124 I Back to top


Gannett Fleming is continuing work on the Long Range Transportation Plan. A Transportation Advisory Committee meeting has been scheduled for April 24, 2007 to review their progress. A Regional Operations Plan is being developed which will be used to implement the ITS Architecture. The next quarterly TAC meeting will be held on May17, 2007 at the Business Innovation Center. A quarterly Transportation Advisory Committee meeting is scheduled for June 21, 2007 at 10:30 AM in the Business Innovation Center.
Point of contact: Bob Skarada x111 I Back to top


LTAP courses scheduled in the northwest Pennsylvania region: Engineering and Traffic Studies May 15, 2007 8 AM - 4 PM Vernon Township Building Meadville, PA Posting and Bonding of Local Roads May 16, 2007 8 AM – Noon Franklin Industrial and Commercial Development Authority Franklin, PA To register please contact Matt Gilara at 814.677.4800 x102. You may also register for these courses online at https://www.ltap.state.pa.us
Point of contact: Matt Gilara x102 I Back to top


The spring training calendar is nearing completion and should be mailed to municipalities in early April. Anticipated training offerings include intermediate Excel, intermediate Access, Word, basic computer skills, basic web design, basic networking, and computer security. Training will be offered in Clarion, Crawford, Erie, Forest, Lawrence, Mercer, and Venango Counties. The training mailing is being expanded to including municipal planning and tax officials. Additionally, municipalities should look for additional information from the Commission soon regarding the Bona Fide Retail Request Program (BFRR). The BFRR program requires certain broadband providers to provide broadband service to all customers within a designated customer service area once a pre-determined subscription threshold is reached. The Commission seeks to work with communities to raise awareness regarding the BFRR program, and engage community “sparkplugs” that would help facilitate completion of simple one-page BFRR request forms. For additional information please contact W. Randy Rice at the Commission.
Point of contact: Randy Rice x122 I Back to top


The Technology Advisory Group (TAG) met on Friday March 16. The TAG welcomed new representation from the Health Care sector as representatives from Clarion Hospital attended the meeting. Health care is anticipated to be one of the key drivers of commercial demand aggregation. A final report resulting from the eCOMMwealth contract with Design Nine, Inc., is anticipated within the very near future. The report will include recommendations for broadband strategies for all seven of the Pennsylvania Local Development Districts. The TAG's next meeting is May 18, 2007 in the Northwest Commission conference room at noon.
Point of contact: Randy Rice x122 I Back to top


The Northwest Commission created downtown Franklin maps that are currently being used on the City of Franklin’s web site (www.franklinpa.gov). The maps are available as .PDF files that show retail businesses, attractions, and restaurants. A map of the Allegheny-Clarion Valley was created for the Foxburg Tourism group and is being reviewed. The Neighborhood GIS site has officially been launched. You can visit the site by going to www.nwneighborhoodgis.com. The Neighborhood GIS site will be a dynamic site in which new and requested data can and will be added. The Northwest Commission is working on a marketing piece for the site and will promote it more regularly throughout the region. Northwest Commission staff attended the Connect/2/Communities Conference at Allegheny College and presented on the new Neighborhood GIS program. Northwest Commission staff is working with Dan Gracenin (Mercer County Planning) to develop a RFP for GIS Services. Mercer County is looking to have a digital parcel layer created along with planimetric data (road centerlines, building footprint or centroids, hydrography). The next GIS User Group meeting is scheduled for May 18, 2007 at noon at FICDA.
Point of contact: Matt Gilara x102 I Back to top


The Northwest Pennsylvania Regional Greenways Steering Committee held a meeting on April 4, 2007 at FICDA. The six counties that are having individual Greenways Plans created were asked to provide a 'Key Person to Interview' list, a list of people who would make up their county Greenways sub-committee, and to review a map that Pashek Associates created.
Point of contact: Matt Gilara x102 I Back to top


Claudia Garcia started at the Northwest Commission in January 2003 and is currently working as an International Trade Specialist in the International Marketing program. Feel free to contact Claudia at 814-454-7191 or by email at claudiag@nwcommission.org What was your nickname as a kid? Well, I had two nicknames that my family and close friends still continue to call me. My mom's family calls me Claus, which is a “short version” for Claudia. And my Dad’s side of my family calls me “mona”, which means "blondie" in Spanish. But as I grew up I lost the blondeness in my hair…. What’s your favorite color? I love Black. Goes with everything! Two words most people who know you well would use to describe you? Happy and generous. Hobbies you enjoy? I love to write cards, notes and letters to my friends and family. I grew up in Latin America (Colombia), which makes dancing a very important hobby for me. Since I was 11 years old I have been a swimmer and I continue enjoying this sport. When you’re not at the Northwest Commission you’re... I can be at home cooking, at church, with my boyfriend or at the gym. What do you like most about being at the Northwest 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. Back to top