Date: March 6, 2008
Place: Foster Township Municipal Building
Project: City of Bradford Master Plan
Client: City of Bradford
Time: 11:30 am – 1:30 pm
MCF No.: 44506002
Attendees:
*Full list coming*
Sara Andrews, City of Bradford OECD
Rick Esch, University of Pittsburgh at Bradford
Mike Glesk, Bradford Area Alliance
Simon Tripp, Impact Economics
Roberta Sarraf, Zoning/Planning Consultant
Albert Filoni, MacLachlan, Cornelius & Filoni, Inc.
Ken Lee, MacLachlan, Cornelius & Filoni, Inc.
Amy Maceyko, MacLachlan, Cornelius & Filoni, Inc.
Purpose: To discuss the results of the public forum and future plans, and to review Mr. Tripp’s initial economic development strategic plans.
Items Discussed:
1. The group began by discussing the public forum held the night before at Fritz Middle School. There seemed to be a good and diverse turn-out of residents that included some committee members but also residents new to the process. It would have been nice to have more representatives of the municipalities, but there were a few. Some of the main comments that came up:
a. Do we really want college students living on Main Street? Everyone might not agree on the answer
b. Several comments about the need for improved sidewalks and curbs around town
c. Is there really a market for a $250,000 home? Yes, although it is recognized that it is a niche market.
d. The newspaper article didn't mention the desire for housing in the $100,000 range, too.
e. The city doesn't have enough staff for code enforcement
f. Lots of people stayed afterwards to chat, which is unusual for public meetings and a good sign. That positive atmosphere
needs to be sustained.
2. Mr. Filoni stated that the planning team will be bringing more ideas on paper next time. We feel like we've done our homework now and it is time to respond. Building owners we've talked to are being positive about the elevator core idea. It may be a good idea to have another public meeting between now and the end of the process to keep the momentum going and maintain public support for the process and the ideas that are generated.
3. 67 people came to the public forum. 58 of them signed in, 10 returned the comment cards and 6 offered to help with the implementation plan. There were representatives from all three municipalities there, which is something that local officials should be made aware of.
4. There are committee members looking for concrete things to do now, even though we are still working on the recommendations for implementation. A few ideas were generated for intermediate action:
a. Organizing clean-up efforts
b. Organizing groups to help low-income residents with home maintenance
c. Thinking about ways that code enforcement efforts could have more “teeth”
d. Bradford and Foster Township residents could attend supervisor meetings and encourage them to take action and get
involved in the planning process
e. Participate in forum discussions on the website and get others involved in it, too
5. It was suggested that it would be nice to have an email list to notify those interested when updates are made to the website.
6. Simon updated the steering committee on the implementation strategy being developed for the economic development arm of the plan. He has created a diagram that outline the five topline strategies and the action items under them. This will be the basis for continuing discussion with his committee next time and the final implementation plan.
a. He commented on the fact that Biosciences, Information Technology and Bio-technology are emerging sectors in other cities
that don't really have any representation in this area. These and other “advanced technologies” are the best things to recruit
if any businesses are going to be recruited. Although recruitment is not really a prime economic activity. A better strategy is
to market the lifestyle of the area (outdoor recreation, small town) as a way of drawing people and their work
b. It was also mentioned that the entrepreneur club at UPB should be brought into this process
c. Maybe a lecture series relating to these economic strategies
d. Mr. Filoni pointed out that we will need to determine how to form the group that will make sure that the master plan gets
implemented. Maybe a mixture volunteers from the public and private sectors? The tasks will have to be staged because
not everything can be done at once, but there will have to be some overlap in the beginning to get several strategies going at
once.
7. Mr. Glesk mentioned a strategy that the City of Buffalo is using is to celebrate a citywide “Homecoming” in June for people who have moved away. There are many former residents with fond memories, just like Bradford has. The second annual event will be held this June.
8. The group discussed the importance of vocational and continuing education programs. In Germany, local manufacturers make sure that the vocational equipment in the schools gets upgraded every three years.
a. Ms. Romanowski commented that Representative Peterson secured $145,000 for equipment for the vocational program but
she recognizes that space is still an issue. Policy only allows for a renovation every 20 years and there was one done to the
high school 8-9 years ago. The policy is in order to get reimbursement from the state. This doesn't mean that private money
couldn't pay for a renovation or addition to the vocational education space.
b. Currently some of the vocational programs are not a job/career oriented as they could be. There is also the possibility of
doing exchanges with other school districts that have cosmetology/culinary spaces in exchange for oil/petroleum spots in
Bradford.
c. Mr. Tripp commented that there need to be different attitudes about educational options. Not everyone should attend a
4-year college and there is nothing inferior about community college or vocational educational.
d. Continuing Education at UPB is less expensive than regular UPB tuition. It is a non-credit program, but maybe there is the
possibility of a certificate program
e. In some places there are community college branch campuses in high schools. Maybe this is a way to provide community
college education in Bradford since the likelihood of a new community college opening in the area is very small.
f. Mr. Filoni cautioned against pigeonholing students to vocational programs or a 4-year college path. But at the same time,
building the available programs at the High School and UPB is more realistic that a new community college in the area.
9. There is doubt about the future of PA skiing or the idea of creating a skiing resort town in the Bradford area. 75% of national resorts are closing and opening new resorts involves high capitol investment for equipment, land and real estate. Some also think that the hills aren't high enough for downhill skiing, but a small scale group of hills for freestyle skiing like ones in Library, PA might be more feasible and a draw for some tourists.
10. The economic development draft will be sent to the committee for comment, to begin thinking about prioritizing and the timing for implementation. The economic report will be an appendix of the main report so they can complement each other but allow MCF and Impact Economics to structure them separately.
11. Mr. Golubock thinks an important topic for discussion is addressing the concerns of the youth as well as the needs of the senior population.
a. The youth need activities and strategies should be investigated for attracting young families
b. Seniors need access to medical facilities, ADA access and low maintenance housing
12. The steering committee will meet and discuss priorities before the planning team returns. The planning team will work on a list of projects that can be started before the whole master plan is written.
With no further items for discussion, the meeting was adjourned. The foregoing constitutes the major items accepted by the attendees. If there are any additions or corrections to these minutes, please notify the Architect.
Respectfully submitted,
MacLachlan, Cornelius & Filoni, Inc.
Amy P. Maceyko, AIA, LEED AP