Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Aug. 8th Apple Tree Alleywalk Meeting Minutes & Action Items

Residential area along Apple Tree Alley
Duncannon Borough Office, 10am 
Attendees:

  • Fred Lauster, Borough Council
  • Tanuya Matter, Borough Manager
  • Lou Colón, Department of Community & Economic Development (DCED)
  • Kim Wheeler, DCED
  • Will Soper, Tri-County Regional Planning Commission
  • Pastor Robinson, Duncannon Church of God
  • Karl King, Main Line Canal Greenway/Allegheny Ridge Corporation
  • Robert Peiffer, Perry County Chamber of Commerce
  • Rick Knepp, Susquenita Middle School
  • Mike Piaskowski, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR)
  • Tom Grbenick, SEDA-COG Community Resource Center
  • Kim Williams, Appalachian Trail Conservancy
  • Kim McKee, Appalachian Trail Conservancy
  • Ashley Albert, Senator Corman’s Office

Summary of Action Items:

  • Mike P. planning meeting with Borough on August 24th to discuss the first phase and preparing the DCNR grant application, seek Borough Council stamp of approval
  • Fred will get Lou Colón the information regarding the 501c3, Lou will check on whether it can be revived
  • Kim Wheeler & Lou will notify the committee when Keystone Community program guidelines are released
  • Will Soper will look into how the 12yr transportation plan comes into play with the 20yr long-range transportation plan
  • Kim M. will send Lou the State Transportation Committee hearing application process info; Kim M. will also coordinate with Fred to draft written testimony before deadline
  • Kim M. will update A.T. Community Committee on Apple Tree AlleyWalk at Thursday, 8/11 meeting (6pm at the Borough Office) and gauge interest in both taking on role of 501c3 and coordinating Apple Tree Alley volunteer efforts
  • Tanuya will check on possibility of allocating Borough’s liquid fuels funds to Apple Tree AlleyWalk project over coming years
  • Mike P. will notify Robert as to when Perry County Chamber members should interested in making a donation, pledging in-kind contributions or interested in tax credit programs should attend Apple Tree AlleyWalk committee meetings
  • **NOTE** Businesses will be planning out their budgets for the coming year before December, preferably invite them attend before then
  • Kim M. will schedule next meeting for mid-September in the coming weeks
  • ALL – send Kim M. any important updates for the blog

Minutes:

Example projects from the region:

SEDA-COG: Potential role
  • [Tom G.]  Can provide ongoing technical assistance, can serve as knowledge source regarding planning process/project designs
  • Can also provide design services, has worked with Borough engineer in the past
  • Prepared to assist the Borough with writing grant applications, within limits – can assist with DCNR application pro bono
  • [Mike P.] Does SEDA-COG have any bulk contracts/purchasing power?  No.

DCNR: Potential role of and funding opportunities
  • [Mike P.] Can help coordinate these efforts.  DCNR grant can be a “doorstep allocation,” though private fundraising should be done as well.
  • Next application is due in early April – Mike P. will coordinate meeting with Borough and other related parties to discuss first phase/application process
  • Can offer services to help coordinate the financials – communicate with DCED & PennDOT
  • **Important for local constituency to stay engaged**

DCED: Potential role and funding opportunities
  • [Lou]  Having a non-profit in place for this project could play an important role
  • Duncannon Area Revitalization Inc. still has $1,800 worth of funds
  • Fred will check on the information for the 501c3 and get that to Lou – Lou will check on whether it can be revived
  • Special Projects Program Tax Credit (part of NPP – see below)
    • Solicit local businesses/corporations to donate – they would receive a tax credit in turn
    • **January 31st , 2012 – last round of tax credits
    • The longer the term, the higher the tax credits
    • $50,000/yr minimum for NPP (for 5 or 10 years)
    • Donors will realize a return of 75% on their taxes
    • Visit www.newpa.com and search for NPP
    • 4 tax credit programs are listed
    • Sometimes the Special Projects Program is used to get a project started and then a different tax program is applied for the next year
  • [Kim Wheeler] Can come along with Borough rep when soliciting funds from a bank, utility, etc. to provide support/explain program
  • Generally non-profits coordinate to put a lunch together and invite their prospective donors, DCED presents at this lunch
  • Per Mike P.’s question: If there is one anchor donor at $50,000, others can contribute smaller amounts as well
  • The program can also accept in-kind contributions and other funding programs (CDBG, DCNR, etc.) as a match
  • Very “Return on Investment” (ROI)-focused – DCED wants to see the impacts over 5 years – increased number of businesses, rising property values, increased sales tax collected, other amenities developed because of initial catalyst project
  • PSU Extension in Middletown has students that can assist in forecasting economic impacts
  • Keystone Communities Streetscape Grant another option for project-based work
  • Enterprise Zone tax credits – for attracting or expanding businesses, Duncannon is within a designated Enterprise Zone
  • DCED also reaches out to the Department of Banking – they have access to the center for business financing as well
  • Connecting to the Downtown will be key for DCED involvement – advantageous if an anchor building were involved, per se
  • DCED also has funds for Community Improvement Program (non-Main Street program communities are eligible) – rolling application and decisions will be made by May 15th of next year.
  • Kim and Lou will notify committee when Keystone Communities guidelines become available

Main Line Canal Greenway: Potential role
  • [Karl] An existing 501c3 can act on behalf on the Borough – Karl will look into whether Allegheny Ridge Corporation would be willing to take on that role if it came down to it
  • Would probably be less efficient than having a more local organization formed
  • Can also provide technical assistance for grant-writing – DCNR or Transportation Enhancements
  • Also noted Federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits available to private sector
  • [Lou] The tax credits can be syndicated to third-party (could be corporation with no interest in project other than acquiring tax credits) – building owners would not necessarily have to front the cost for the restoration themselves
  • The program is ran by Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission and Scott Doyle is the contact\DCED can partner with this program as well through the Keystone Communities program
  • Can also get an insurance policy on the tax credits to ensure completion of project
  • [Tom G.] Hitch: the property has to be listed on federal register of historic places or eligible for listing
Susquenita Middle School: Potential Role
  • [Rick] Can get middle school groups involved with planting trees, volunteer work, etc.
  • General community outreach, generate excitement about project and community pride
  • Possible attendance at future Borough Council meetings to show community support for project

Perry County Chamber of Commerce: Potential role and funding opportunities
  • [Robert] Chamber voted unanimously to support the project and has provided Fred with a letter of support for A.T. Community application
  • Chamber has a number of non-profits within their organization, the co-chair, Frank Campbell, is very involved with Newport Revitalization
  • Board members are associated with statewide organizations
  • Can be a resource for in-kind services/contributions, very committed to the Duncannon area – has started to talk to businesses about potential donations from trees to bricks to excavation work

Tri-County Regional Planning Commission: Potential role and funding opportunities
  • [Lou] Transportation Enhancement process – State Transportation Committee holding hearings over the next month (Altoona, Aug. 11th, Gettysburg, Aug. 26th)
  • Must apply to present testimony – they will accept written testimony through the end of September, would be good to have this project presented
  • ATC will be present at Gettysburg, Lou (DCED) will be present at Altoona – Kim M. will send Lou the public hearing guidelines
  • [Will] Will look into how the 12yr program comes into play with the long range transportation plan (20yr)
  • Tri-County RPC sees this as very important – wants to see it move from long-range transportation plan to funded through Transportation Enhancements (TE)
  • Will stay on top of progress with federal legislation and keep committee updated
  • Tri-County also has the CDBG planner on staff – Eliz Wimmer
  • **Phasing** – this project can be programmed through TE phase-by-phase, each phase could stand alone

Appalachian Trail Conservancy: Potential role
  • [Kim Williams] Supporting the Borough, providing technical assistance as well as staff capacity allows, facilitating meetings and committee communication
  • Mobilizing Appalachian Trail Community Committee and volunteers, facilitating potential transition into 501c3 through reviving Duncannon Area Revitalization, Inc. or otherwise
  • Connecting local Trail clubs to Duncannon projects

Duncannon Church of God: Potential role
  • [Pastor Robinson] Will take this information back to other Pastors in the Community
  • Will perform community outreach and generate support at the base level
  • Possible attendance at future Borough Council meetings to show community support for project

Senator Corman’s Office: Potential role
  • [Ashley] Will take this information back to Senator Corman, can provide letters of support where needed

Duncannon Borough: Potential role and comments
  • [Tanuya] Non-profit designation will be important in getting the community involved
  • Borough has started to have success in engaging civic groups in community projects, also summer youth work program has been building momentum
  • Boy Scouts, Schools, Churches, Lions Club could get involved in non-profit or mobilizing volunteers
  • [Tom G.] Liquid fuels funds – Borough should potentially allocate some liquid fuel funds towards project in coming years, would be helpful in fundraising to show Borough is dedicating funds as well
  • [Fred] Noted after meeting: Borough does have a certain amount of dedicated Apple Tree AlleyWalk funds set aside from a few years ago

Susquehanna Greenway Partnership: Potential role
  • [Tom G.] SGP is currently developing a River Town assessment tool – help engage community in business development ideas

Final Comments:
  • Short-term – discussing and developing a plan to start on an initial phase with DCNR (Mike P. coordinating)
  • Longer-term – a group needs to look at organizational aspects (between various organizations/public entities involved) and a 10-yr project development strategy
  • [Kim M.] Thought - Given project timeframe and project history – should the committee consider a project-based Memorandum of Understanding outlining roles and responsibilities in case of staff turnover in coming years?
  • [Robert] Let Perry County Chamber know when interested members/businesses in tax credits, donations or in-kind contributions should attend meetings – preferably BEFORE NOVEMBER as businesses plan for next fiscal year budgets
  • [Kim M.] Will form email distribution list and continue posting updates to blog: http://duncannonat.blogspot.com
  • Next all-committee meeting will be planned for mid-September, Kim M. will schedule in coming weeks.

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