Record of Meeting

Place:   Abasso Restaurant        Project:       City of Bradford Master Plan
Date:    August 28, 2007            Client:         City of Bradford
Time:    7:30 pm-9:00 pm           MCF No.:    44506002

Attendees:

Livingston Alexander, University of Pittsburgh at Bradford
Sara Andrews, City of Bradford OECD
Greg Booth, Zippo
Linda Devlin, Allegheny National Forest Vacation Bureau
Rick Esch, University of Pittsburgh at Bradford
Harvey Golubock, ARG, Inc, (Economic Development Subcommittee)
Chris Hauser, Downtown Bradford Revitalization Corp, Bradford Area Alliance
Kathy Jones, Zippo
Bill Leven, Futures
*** McDowell, Bradford Area Alliance
Carolyn Newhouse, SuperUser Technologies
Shane Oschman, Northwest Savings Bank
Brad Preston, Sawyer Evangelical Church
Scott Rice, KOA Speers Electronics
Sandra Romanowski, Bradford Area School District
Tom Urban, Beacon Light
Simon Tripp, Impact Economics
Roberta Sarraf, Zoning Consultant
Albert Filoni, MCF Architects
Ken Lee, MCF Architects
Amy Maceyko, MCF Architects

Purpose:    To get to know the steering committee members, to talk about how the master plan process will work and to start talking about issues affecting the study area.

Items Discussed:

1.  After a brief greeting from Mr. Filoni, the meeting got underway by giving each committee member a chance to introduce themselves, including what local business and/or organizations they are involved with and what issue(s) they think are most critical for this plan to address.  Before the introductions, Mr. Filoni asked for a show of hands to determine residency.  Of the members of the committee present, 5 members live in the city, 3 live in Foster Township and 6 live in Bradford Township.

2.  Here are the comments that were made as each member took their turn to speak:
a.    *** McDowell – Throughout all three municipalities, there are nice houses immediately next to houses in need of repair and maintenance.  It's not clear whether the issue is the existing codes, the code enforcement, the criminal justice system or something else.  The planning team commented that political support and media pressure can play a role in the situation as well.
b.    Howard Golubock – His main concern is economic development and how it can affect other issues.
c.    Linda Devlin – How can tourism be boosted to have an positive affect on the economy?  Also, she is interested in stopping the economic drain of having local salaries being spent elsewhere.
d.    Brad Preston – He is interested in looking at the big picture – overall and long range planning for the benefit of all three municipalities.
e.    Scott Rice – His interest is improving the quality of life for local professional employees and he has some involvement in the airport and the Penn Hills Club
f.    Rick Esch – His main interest is implementation – the process is really just beginning when the planning process is completed and the report is printed
g.    Chris Hauser – His main interest is in the vibrancy of the downtown hub
h.    Livingston Alexander – He is interested in seeing the region respond to the needs and interests of the University students and to see a college town lifestyle develop.  He also sees the quality of life in Bradford as being critical for the University's ability to recruit and retain faculty and staff on campus.
i.    Carolyn Newhouse – Her main concern is that the local middle class seems to be disappearing and she is also concerned that local resources are being taxed by local citizens who aren't contributing to the quality of life in the area
j.    Jeff Andrews – He is very interested in the possibilities of all that the trail system can bring to the area
k.    Sandra Romanowski – She hopes that this process and the resulting actions can bring pride back to the community (of all ages) and she wants to make sure that an effort is made to keep the building stock and other resources from getting further run down.
l.    Tom Urban – He is sure that with revitalization downtown can be much better
m.    Greg Booth – He wants to see the area build on its strengths and move forward.  He also thinks that new jobs are critical
n.    Kathy Jones – She would like to see a better positive attitude in the community, a revitalization of downtown and a better “town and gown” relationship
o.    Bill Leven – He thinks that economic development is a critical issue.  He works to help provide vocational services to adults with disabilities and this particular issue would help enhance the opportunities that he could find for his clients.
p.    Shane Oschman – He is interested in how the housing market can be improved for those moving to the area for the first time, including the availability of good rental properties while house hunting.  He also thinks there are a lot of well-kept secrets in the area (things to do, education, etc) that residents should know more about.

3.  Each time that the planning team returns to Bradford (approximately every 4-6 weeks during the process) there will be meetings and interviews with local residents, business people and other parties with important input to provide on the planning process.  During this trip, the team has met with the Main Street Manager and the Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce today and will meet with Lewis Run borough, the Bradford Housing Authority and officials concerned with commercial development in Foster Township tomorrow.  The planning team is look for input about who they should be meeting with during future visits.  These aren't necessarily “focus groups”, but more like interviews – finding out what people think the plan should be looking at and how improvements can be achieved.
a.    Ministerium – group of local religious officials
b.    University students – a cross section of classes and geographic backgrounds to discuss their impressions of the area and experiences in town and on campus
c.    University faculty – old and new staff – why they came and why they have stayed, do they keep in touch with faculty who have left and what were their experiences
d.    Retired members of the community, especially those who don't see the positives that the area has to offer and some who are still resentful of school consolidation
e.    Broad cross-section of community – the “silent majority”, old and young, longtime and new residents, male and female
f.    Talk with Zippo employees and talk with those who come though Zippo visitor's center
g.    Intercept visits at Walmart and TOPS – who is shopping there, how often and what do they think of the commercial offerings in the area
h.    Talk with people while walking around downtown and to those hanging out in Veteran's Square and in public parks
i.    High School Students – what are their impressions of the area and what are their plans after graduation   
j.    Realtors – no multi-list, no consistent neighborhoods, discuss rentals for new residents during home-buying process
k.    Visit the senior center at lunchtime
l.    Try to figure out how to engage the apathetic portion of the population
m.    Government officials
n.    Small business owners – obstacles, perspectives and benefits of operating a business here
o.    Local entrepreneurs
p.    The local media
q.    The school board and school teachers who have taught somewhere else and have come back
r.    The greeters at Walmart
s.    Ask the Kane and Smethport Chambers of Commerce get a group of their shoppers together to talk to us and/or try to talk to shoppers in Olean.
t.    Building owners downtown – use of upper floors as well as maintenance and security issues

4.  As a result of the discussion of the listing of groups to interview, a few topics were brought up that need to be addressed in the planning process.  No solutions were worked on, but these issues will be delved into in more detail at future meetings or in subcommittee meetings.
a.    Many landlords have difficulty finding good renters
b.    Given the housing stock, economy and land availability, it is easier for landlords to buy older homes than to build new properties for rental
      1.  Mr. Filoni mentioned that maintenance issues are a national problem.  Look at how the clean-up and maintenance in New York City affected it's image – strict enforcement and political support are key
c.    Mr. Rice spoke about a town in Ohio – they have accepted that they aren't growing and are focusing on specific zones to build up and trying to make the town more green as well
d.    The committee will need to consider how quality of life is defined.  This varies for different segments of the community
e.    The steering committee needs to help local residents take ownership of the future.  Members need to talk with their neighbors, coworkers and friends about what is happening, how they can get involved and the positive attributes that the area has to offer.  This must be a grass roots effort, not a process that the planning team can implement.
       1.Ms. Romanowski mentioned the negative comments and opinions that she hears most often - “The best and brightest leave”, “Where do you live”, and lack of “The Pride” the area used to have
f.    Some think that the overabundance of low cost housing is a bigger driver than the location of the welfare office in town.  The perception of both the lower income population, the population dependent on welfare and the population that “hangs out” downtown is a big issue.  The planning team would like to review the data that describes the actual make-up of the populations.
g.    At both the University and the Hospital, the administration is very engaged in the community, but the faculty, staff and doctors aren't.  This contributes to the erosion (or perceived erosion?) of the middle class and lack of pride in the area
h.    There is an opportunity to create a “university town” feel here.  Both the trail and the fine arts building have begun to foster new interaction, but there is more that could occur.  Maybe making the town more bike friendly would have an impact.  The trail goes around the center of town instead of through it (some of this was because of problem properties that were identified during the trail planning process) – this is an obstacle.
i.    Ms. Devlin mentioned that a survey of recent tourists was just completed.  This is something that she can provide to the planning team for review.
j.    Should the Bradford area be branded, and if so, how?
k.    There are climate related issues, too – snow removal downtown (sidewalks are the responsibility of business owners, street plowing by city can leave piles along sidewalk) and how can town/gown relationship be encouraged in the winter (trails and biking aren't practical).
l.    Importance of engaging the press in this process – provide them with press releases, invite them to public presentations in addition to interviewing them as a part of the process
m.    Interesting fact – McKean County has the lowest crime rate along Route 6

5.  Mr. Filoni ended the meeting with a few comments to look toward our next set of meetings and visit in September.
a.    The website will be set up soon so that we will be able to talk via email and the web between visits
b.    We haven't yet discussed W. Washington Street or East Bradford and their separation from the primary downtown zone in the city.  Also, it will be important to discuss all three municipalities and not just the city.
c.    Taken as one long road – East Main Street, Main Street, Boyleston and West Washington link all three communities.  How does the experience change along the road, how do the three municipalities work together and can we get all three groups to work together and talk about zoning together for this route
d.    This area is defined by the geography – the Tuna Valley.  The city is bounded by the townships and all three municipalities are bounded by the hills.  The image of the city is affected by the townships for those who don't know the boundaries or even that the townships are separate.  But the geography is a positive attribute for preventing further sprawl issues.

6.  This time works for the majority of steering committee members, so it should be expected that the steering committee meeting will be at this time during each planning team visit.

   
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