Record of Meeting

Place:   Old City Hall 4th Floor Conf. Room        Project:      City of Bradford Master Plan
Date:    June 11, 2007                                     Client:        City of Bradford
Time:    1:00pm-2:30pm                                   MCF No.:    44506002

Attendees:
Ross Neidich, Bradford City Council
Bob Onuffer, Bradford City Council
Tom Riel, Bradford City Council
Mike Glesk, Bradford Area Alliance
Sara Andrews, City of Bradford OECD
Rick Esch, University of Pittsburgh at Bradford
John Peterson, Bradford City Clerk
Denny Puko, PA Dept. of Community & Econ. Development
Simon Tripp, Impact Economics
Roberta Sarraf, Zoning Consultant
Albert Filoni, MCF Architects
Ken Lee, MCF Architects
Amy Maceyko, MCF Architects

Purpose:    To inform Bradford City Council about how the master planning process will work over the next year and to get their input on what they think are the most critical issues to be reviewed and examined in the process.

Items Discussed:

1. All three councilmen have been in office for at least two years and have 2 years to go.  They have all lived in Bradford for many years.  There are two other council members.

2. Mr. Filoni spoke about what the master plan is – it is more than a drawing or a book that will sit on the shelf.  We will spend time gathering information and we want to find out whom the councilmen think we should talk to.
- What are the priorities?
- How do the municipalities work together?  (It’s important that MCF work with everybody.)
- Who should be on the committees?

3. The Steering Committee will discuss options, establish priorities, make decisions, stand behind those decisions, and carry out the plans.  It will be a committee of about 20 people and there will be three sub-committees (Economic Development, Planning & Zoning, Downtown Strategy & Regional Business) to focus on more specific issues and report to the main steering committee.  There will also be a group of government officials and local CEOs that MCF and the consultants will personally brief twice during the master planning process.  Ms. Andrews reviewed the types of representatives desired for the committees and agreed to send the list to City Council so they can make recommendations on who should be invited to participate.

4. There is a plan to set up a website as a part of the project to keep the people of the area informed about what is happening and being discussed, as well as giving everyone the opportunity to send in comments.

5. Mr. Filoni stated that we want to ensure that the plan that will survive beyond current political careers.  A group will need to be established by all three municipalities upon the adoption of the plan to oversee implementation.  This group will work with the OECD and heed the priorities laid down in the master plan.  It still needs to be determined how members of this committee will be chosen (maybe a subset of the steering committee?).

6. There is a question about the name of this project.  Calling it the City of Bradford Master Plan is too narrow.  Maybe the Tuna Valley Master Plan?

7. Mr. Onuffer and Mr. Peterson seem to like the idea of a zoning plan for the whole valley.  Mr. Puko agrees, since doing the zoning together prevents each municipality from having to create a zone for every use.

8. Mr Filoni asked each councilman to describe what issues they think are most critical for review during this master plan process.
   a. Mr. Riel is concerned that the city enforces zoning more than townships.  He has also heard some citizens express concerns about regionalizing the valley (e.g. losing police to the townships).  There is also the issue of the city’s reputation and the fact that people leave the city for the township - part of the reason people move to the townships, along with taxes, is the age of the housing stock and smaller lots.  And lastly, the lack of decent jobs versus the availability of welfare.
   b. Mr. Neidich has heard that township citizens are concerned that if the municipalities combine, then townships will be “bailing out” the city and their money will benefit the city and not the townships.  (But how much is it costing everyone to have duplicate services?)  Another issue is that people with means do their ‘extra’ shopping further away – they go to buffalo, grove city, etc for clothing and specialty items.  They just do their grocery and purchase necessities nearby.  It’s important to figure out how to get the middle class and people with means to spend money in town.  Maybe certain evenings merchants could be convinced to stay open later.  The new coffee shop is doing well.  The downtown needs different stores than before - shoe stores and dress shops can’t compete with Wal-Mart prices.  Also, downtown businesses should consider the disposable income of UPB students.  There should definitely be students on one or more committees.
   c. Mr. Onuffer would like to see more living wage jobs - there aren’t enough jobs that compete with the benefits of welfare.  He would also like the municipalities to consider regionalization of services – they just need to combine garbage/recycling and have a central place for trash transfer station.
   d. All agree, the valley needs a climate where everyone is more positive about what the area has to offer.

9. UPB Students frequent the Mexican and Beefeaters restaurant, the movie rental places, the pizza places, and even though it is summer, they have been seen at the new coffee shop.

10. The Kiwanis’ public housing is up for sale - maybe that’s an opportunity for change.  Part of the reason that the public square is no longer the city center is because it is a hangout for many people on public assistance.  It seems that the uneducated perpetuate an uneducated mentality in their families.

11. Other points concerning jobs and education:
   a. There is still vocational education in the schools.
   b. The hospital has an aggressive recruitment program, especially for doctors.
   c. Nurses come from NY and UPB.
   d. There are local programs for training medical technicians.
   e. Oil companies are stealing employees from other companies with latest boom

With no further items for discussion, the meeting was adjourned.  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