Latest news with #DepartmentofCommunityandEconomicDevelopment
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
$400,000 grant will help fund solar field planned at Erie County Technical School
The Erie County Technical School has been awarded a $400,000 state grant to help fund a solar array on school grounds. The Solar for Schools grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development is among 73 awarded statewide. The almost $23 million in grants will help schools reduce electricity costs, Pennsylvania Education Secretary Rick Siger said in a statement. "Energy is one of the top expenses for schools, which is why investments in solar energy can help to maintain long-term financial stability and improve the quality of education they offer students," Siger said. "Those savings can then be channeled into more resources for our teachers and students, and also create good-paying, clean-energy jobs and job training opportunities." Penncrest School District in Crawford County was awarded a $336,960 Solar for Schools grant. The school plans to build a .5-megawatt solar farm on five to seven acres behind the school at 8500 Oliver Road in Summit Township. About 1,000 solar panels would be installed to produce enough power to provide about one-third of the school's electrical needs, saving about $75,000 annually, tech school Executive Director Matt LaVerde said. The estimates are based on solar assessments from a number of industry entities, LaVerde said. The school spends about $225,000 annually for electricity for multiple buildings and for multiple labs with a variety of power-drawing equipment. "We estimate we will save between $3 million and $5 million on electricity over 20 years, and that will be a big deal for all of our 11 member school districts," LaVerde said. The solar field also would reduce the complex's carbon footprint and help it achieve energy independence. The school plans to add solar panels annually. "Our plan is to add to the array every single year, even if it's just by a handful of panels to teach students the installation process," LaVerde said. The biggest benefit of the solar project, LaVerde said, would be the "living lab" on school grounds. "It will be a teaching tool for our students," LaVerde said. "That's one of our main motivations for this project. Renewable energy is not going away, and this will provide opportunities for hands-on learning right on our site." And that will benefit industry and communities as well as students, acting state education Secretary Carrie Rowe said. "These projects turn school buildings into living laboratories where students gain real-world experience in clean energy technology," Rowe said in a statement. "Whether it's through hands-on STEM education or technical training in solar installation and maintenance, this initiative prepares students for in-demand careers and helps ensure Pennsylvania's workforce is ready to lead in the 21st Century economy." Total cost of the solar project is estimated at $1.2 million. The Solar for Schools grant and government renewable energy incentives are expected to cover more than $900,000 of that cost. In Girard Township: Erie County's first commercial solar farm "The lift for us locally will be about one-quarter of the cost, and we expect that will be paid off in energy savings in four to five years," LaVerde said. The solar field could be completed next summer. Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@ This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Coming to Erie County Technical School: A solar energy field
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Commissioners OK CDBG plan, St. James Haven funds
Crawford County Commissioners Eric Henry and Scott Schell approved business as usual Wednesday with Chris Seeley absent, including Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) plans and an allocation to St. James Haven in Meadville. The CDBG process has begun and, according to Samantha Travis, deputy director of planning, the office solicited project ideas at a public hearing on May 28. The county's planning office administers CDBG funds for the county, the cities of Titusville and Meadville, and Vernon Township. The office has not yet received its 2025 allocation from the Department of Community and Economic Development. Travis expects it to be similar to last year's, which was $270,000 for the county. Funding is determined by a formula legislated by Act 179 in 1984. At least 70 percent of it must be used to benefit low- to moderate-income households. The office will accept project ideas through July 31 and will host another public hearing in September. Commissioners will vote on the CDBG application in October, Travis said. On Wednesday, they approved the plans, policies and resolutions that will be needed for the CDBG application process. Also on Wednesday, commissioners OK'd an allocation of $8,996 to St. James Haven. 'If you don't know, St. James Haven is not funded by anything from the government. It's all by their own money, their own support from their Sisters in Erie. It's a good project,' Henry said, thanking Sue Watkins from Human Services for her help on the county's side, facilitating the project. Watkins said the county has provided St. James Haven with retained revenue to purchase shelter supplies and waterproof its basement. St. James Haven, an outreach ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Northwestern Pennsylvania, is a temporary shelter in Meadville that accommodates up to 14 men each night. It also provides meals and connects individuals with local agencies. The county fairgrounds will receive some work as commissioners OK'd payment using a safety grant to Shields Asphalt Paving to lay asphalt inside Gate 3 for $11,560. The driveway is used for handicap-accessible parking and is in bad shape, according to Henry and maintenance director Mark Phelan. Commissioners approved the purchase of a replacement pair of E-GLOVES with a one-year warranty for $1,605 for the Crawford County Correctional Facility. The current pair is around three to four years old, according to Warden Jack Greenfield, and needs repairs that would cost $1,970. Greenfield said the gloves, which send a small electric shock into the individual they touch, are a great deterrent, decreasing or stopping the use of force when used. The amount will be paid using commissary funds. Other approvals included adopting the planning office's safety action plan, ratifying a service contract with Civic Vanguard for Geographical Information Systems work, and paying local companies for their work with the Construction Industry Workforce Program. The next meeting will be a work session at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in the commissioners conference room.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Carbondale to consider referendum for home rule charter update
Carbondale residents could have the opportunity to vote in November on a referendum modernizing personnel policies in the city's home rule charter. Carbondale City Council will consider adopting an ordinance during its June 16 meeting to add a referendum question to the Nov. 4 ballot addressing the personnel section of the city's home rule charter, according to Mayor Michele Bannon and a public notice published Friday in The Times-Tribune. If approved, the referendum will ask city voters whether to amend Article IX of Carbondale's home rule charter concerning its municipal personnel system, according to the notice. The charter is the city's governing document. The potential referendum comes as city officials are working to update their legislation, namely Carbondale's 1974 home rule charter, Bannon said. 'Government always needs to be transparent,' Bannon said. 'We always need to be responsive, and we need to be aligned with the evolving needs of our community.' Enacted in 1972, Pennsylvania's Home Rule Law increased local autonomy, according to the state Department of Community and Economic Development. Home rule charters transfer the basic authority to act in municipal affairs from state law to a local charter that is adopted and amended by voters, according to the DCED. The goal in Carbondale is to modernize its charter, clarify outdated language and 'ultimately enhance our operational efficiency within municipal government,' Bannon said. Elements of Carbondale's home rule charter don't reconcile with each other, Bannon said, which prompted her to speak with city council, their solicitor and members of the public. 'It's obviously clear that we need to make some changes in the charter, so we figured we'd start with personnel, simply because that's the heart and soul of who we are,' she said. 'The city of Carbondale provides service to our residents, so we want to make sure everything is lined up there and … that our staff gives our residents the best service they possibly can.' Councilman Dominick Famularo, who introduced the ordinance, echoed Bannon. 'The language of our charter is 50 years old, and there are many spots throughout the charter where either the understanding of the passage has changed or the language seemed inappropriate,' Famularo said. Carbondale last amended its home rule charter in 2004 when residents approved a referendum allowing the mayor to fill the position of managing director if he or she met the qualifications. Amending the home rule charter has to be done by referendum, Bannon said. According to the draft ordinance, there would be amendments to three items under the personnel section. First, appointments and promotions of subordinate officers and employees within departments shall be made by the mayor/managing director, not the department head. That conflicts with other parts of the charter, and the mayor/managing director already handles appointments and promotions, Bannon said. Second, any employee who files a petition for election of office would have to obtain a positive opinion from the State Ethics Commission and any other relevant agency. Currently, the charter stipulates that no city employee shall serve as an officer of a political party; any city employee who files a petition for election to a partisan political office and does not withdraw shall be required to take a leave of absence for the duration of the campaign. If not elected, the employee shall promptly be restored to the previously held position without losing any rights, according to the current charter language. While campaigning for mayor in 2023, Bannon had to take a leave of absence from her longtime position as city clerk. That became an issue for the city, Famularo said. 'She had to leave her position for several months during the campaign, and of course what happens then is we have a gap in leadership in the city,' he said. 'I really don't think that was anyone's intention when they wrote the charter.' Third, the amendment would remove 'cumbersome language' regarding civil service, Bannon said. According to the proposal, the home rule charter would only say, 'All full-time police and fire employees of the city shall be covered by civil service,' deleting a line saying, 'with the exception of the managing director, the city solicitor, department heads and the city clerk.' City council will meet June 16 at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 1 N. Main St.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Home repair program in Pa. would continue investment in essential renovations
A street in Shamokin in Northumberland County. The county got more than $1 million for residential improvements like plumbing and weatherization through the Whole Home Repair Program, which has since run out of its American Rescue Plan funding. State lawmakers are proposing a similar successor funded at $50 million per year. (Emily Previti/Pennsylvania Capital-Star) A home repair program that Pennsylvanians really seem to need, based on the response, could continue if state officials can agree on how to run it. A bipartisan group of state legislators announced – just before budget talks officially start in Harrisburg – they'll co-sponsor forthcoming legislation creating the PA Home Preservation Program. Gov. Josh Shapiro's proposed budget allocates $50 million for the program. It took mere months to spend four times that amount through the similarly-focused Whole Home Repair Program. The WHRP diverted $125 million to financing weatherization, plumbing and other essential improvements to thousands of residential units across the state starting last September, according to the state Department of Community and Economic Development. And more 18,000 applicants, combined, were left on waitlists kept by pass-through agencies, according to the planned bill's co-sponsorship memo. Lawmakers used a one-time federal infusion from the American Rescue Plan to create the WHRP. Program requirements limited homeowners to those making no more than 80 percent of median area household income. Landlords couldn't own more than five properties and 15 affordable units across all properties. And it capped project costs at $50,000 per unit. State officials view the WHRP as a pilot for the proposed PA Home Preservation program that's intended to be more permanent. 'It is not easy to sort of do all this coordination, build out relationships with contractors, … [and] sub-grantees,' said DCED Secretary Rick Siger during the agency's budget hearing earlier this year. 'But we have a path now…informed by, frankly, just learning a bunch of stuff as we ran Whole Home Repair.' The new initiative likely would have income limits for homeowner recipients and prioritize senior citizens, according to prime sponsor Rep. Lindsay Powell, D-Pittsburgh. Other than that, few details have been hashed out, Powell said Friday. But one would be an effort to keep program guidelines as consistent as possible, she said. She cited constantly changing expectations and reporting requirements as a major challenge during her time on Pittsburgh's Urban Redevelopment Authority Board. Siger, Powell and others have pointed to the age of Pennsylvania's housing stock as another reason to invest in renovation and rehabilitation, with nearly 60 percent of homes statewide dating back to before 1970.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Antis Township seeking grant to add more recreational activities
BELLWOOD, Pa. (WTAJ) — Antis Township applied for a grant from the Department of Community and Economic Development to add more recreational activities to the Bellwood Antis Community Park. Douglas Brown, the Township Manager, said amenities already exist at the park, but the grant would give people more options. They're looking to add a dog park and pickleball courts. Brown said it's something that the community has been asking for. 'So, almost ten years ago, Bellwood Antis had done a park and recreation plan, and it included improvements, one of which was a dog park. For various reasons, we're just now getting to it, but near the park, there's an unused piece of ground and looking to kind of fill out that park and maximize the use of that. That's really where the two ideas came together,' Brown said. DCNR visits Bald Eagle State Park, highlights new campground and other projects They've applied for a $250,000 grant with a 15% match. The township budgets for park and recreation improvements in its annual budget. They previously received another grant to pave a portion of the trail and extend access across the drainage ditch. That means there's money left in the budget that will be used to match the grant. If the state approves the grant, the township would bid out the project, find contractors and move forward with construction. If the grant is denied, Brown said they will move forward with plans and reapply, or take things in stages and work to make improvements for the community. The township is expected to learn the status of the grant in January 2026. 'Parks and rec is not our sole focus. It's a service we provide to the residents. You know, it's a really important service we provide, especially in town. It's a place where families can go,' Brown said. On May 31, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Bellwood Antis Community Trust will host a Kids Craft Fair in the park. The vendors will be local children who are going to present and sell their products. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
