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 24^th 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:

• [Tom G.] Another example project in the region – Kish Riverwalk/Trail in Lewistown Borough: http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/brc/Keystone/cameos/3KishRiverwalkMifflin.pdf
• Ongoing project that goes back at least a decade and led to interest in redeveloping a Brownfield site
• From handouts – Millersburg Riverfront park: http://www.millersburgpa.org/Home/lykens-alley-rail-trail---millersburg-section
• Newport Buy-a-Brick campaign: http://www.nrps.pa.net/buyabrick.html

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 31^st , 2012 – last round of tax credits

• Neighborhood Partnership Program (NPP) – Highly competitive

• 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 15^th 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. 11^th, Gettysburg, Aug. 26^th)
• 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.