Record of Meeting
Place: Bradford Area Public Library Project: City of Bradford Master Plan
Date: August 29, 2007 Client: City of Bradford
Time: 7:30 am-9:00 am MCF No.: 44506002
Attendees:
Sara Andrews, City of Bradford OECD
Dean Bauer, Kiwanis Housing, Retired Banker
Reverend Lee Beckes, First Presbyterian Church, Friendship Table
Lisa Campogiani, OECD – Elm Street Manager
Anna Chiodo, Miss Maggie's
Diane DeWalt, Main Street Manager
Rick Esch, University of Pittsburgh at Bradford
Howard Fesenmyer, Blaisedell Foundation
Jim Guelfi, Downtown Bradford Revitalization Corp, BCPAC
MJ Hand, Historic Architectural Review Board, Business Owner
Chris Hauser, Bradford Area Alliance, DBRC
Kathy Jones, Zippo
Tina Kowlsen, Hooker Fulton Building
Brian McNamara, Business and Property Owner
Ron Orris, Walmart
Tina Phillips, Business Owner (in city)
Jerry Stover, Best Western
Kathleen Vecchio, University of Pittsburgh at Bradford
Michelle Warner, Tops
Glen Washington, Bradford Regional Medical Center
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 subcommittee members, to talk about how the master plan process will work and to start talking about issues affecting the study area.
Items Discussed:
1. Mr. Filoni began by introducing the master plan process. It will take about a year and this committee is a sub-committee of the Main Steering Committee in order to focus on the business strategies related to downtown and the region. Even though the process will take a year, it is never really done. The report that results will include a list of action items, but implementation will be more difficult with three municipalities and such a diverse population involved. The idea of the committees is to build consensus and to get a lot of people involved in the process for significant community buy-in.
2. The next item involved group introductions and then Mr. Filoni polled the group about where they live. According to the hands raised, 6 committee members present live in the city, 6 live in Bradford Township and 3 live in Foster Township.
3. Reverend Beckes mentioned that he's involved with Friendship Table in addition to his church. Friendship Table serves about 100 people every night and they have been open for 10 years.
4. After introductions were complete, Mr. Filoni asked Mr. Bauer to speak about the Kiwanis Housing from his perspective. Mr. Bauer explained that the housing can provide space for 50 families and it is near 100% occupancy. They would like to do some maintenance soon and the group is 4 years from completing the mortgage. This topic spurned a discussiong and a number of comments:
a. Has this been good for the community for 36 years
b. It was estimated that about 50% of those who use the services of Friendship Table has mental disabilities
c. It would be nice to provide some service for the children of those on welfare to break the cycle of generation and generation on welfare
d. The Kiwanis housing is a 236 project of HUD
e. Some see the big issue being residents who don't work at all because their rent is almost totally subsidized
f. Maybe an improvement in code enforcement can indirectly affect the unemployed in a positive way by improving their situation
g. Some feel that the lower income population feel separated, estranged and despondent, so it is the responsibility of their fellow citizens to make them feel like a part of the community.
h. There is no way to go to the University without seeing the public housing nearby
i. Even if the public housing went away, it is likely that those with low income would become tenants of the slum landlords in the area. Which means that the city code enforcement would become even more critical
j. It was noted that the “slum landlords” live both in and out of town. Also, there are University students who live in these undesirable apartments as well.
5. Bad properties exist in all three municipalities and all give a bad impression. In all three areas, multiple calls of complaint are necessary to get results. But it was also pointed out that some neighbors clean up when new neighbors move in and clean up previously troubled properties, so code enforcement isn't the only way that problems can be solved. Established residents can be spurned to action when they see positive things happening around them.
6. Mr. Hauser spoke to address some of the issues that have been brought up – he was previously a district judge. From his perspective, it isn't just an issue of enforcement. Fining an building owner doesn't mean that the problem will be fixed. In some cases, resources are needed from the city to clean up the problems when the owners aren't willing to. As a judge, he wanted to give offenders 30 days to fix the problem and get a reduced fine, but the city council was not supportive. The fines can be up to $600.
7. Just like many cities who have lost population over the years, there is a revenue problem in the city. There are fewer people, fewer jobs, a surplus of buildings and a smaller tax base.
a. Maybe it would help to empower community members to volunteer to make the city better and do some of the things that the city can't afford to do or things to help our downtown business owners – water flowers on the weekend, shovel sidewalks, etc.
b. Ms. Sarraf asked if Habitat for Humanity has a presence in Bradford, and the answer was yes.
8. Ms. Knowlson spoke as a resident who returned to Bradford after being gone for a while. (Her brother owns the Hooker Fulton Building and is renovating it)
a. She's sees more of a college town now than before and she thinks that is a good thing. (Over 50% of local graduates go to UPB) She sees a bigger university presence and more students looking for things to do.
b. The Hooker Fulton building offices are 50% rented, some renters include doctors, CPAs, a state agency (eventually leaving) and hospital offices.
9. Bradford is a generous place where people give when there is a need. A package or product that can be sold to the community is likely to get a lot of support. But there is also a need for local leadership – someone with the overall plans for the valley in mind that can talk to PennDOT about entrances and changes to 219 or to the Army Corps about the aesthetics of the flood control projects. (Just as examples of higher level projects that may or may not have had much input from local residents.)
10. Dr. McNamara hopes that this process can engage people and let them know that things are changing, and give them a sense of hope and positivity. It would be nice if the process would empower residents to talk about the what is happening here. He also thinks that the historic buildings in town are an important part of the “attitude” of Bradford.
11. Mr. Washington sees the master plan process as a way to give direction for positive change by creating a list of small things that can be accomplished instead of a vague plan that sits on the shelf. Hopefully this process can help bring people together to similar and fact-based ideas about what to do, instead of lots of loud opinions.
a. Ms. Sarraf noted that tasks have to be based on political and fiscal reality as well as facts.
12. Ms. Andrews stated that she thinks there is good governmental leadership in place – the city supported the Elm Street Program both politically and with $1 million in funds. There will be progress to see on this front soon.
a. Also, it is important to work within the situation that exists. The fact that welfare programs and social services are based in Bradford isn't going to change.
b. It's important to instill pride and educate the community about local opportunities – Elm Street is a good example because there are still people unaware of the program
c. Maybe there will need to be a Public Relations subcommittee at some point to outreach into the community and educate the public about the process and the plans
13. Other comments of note:
a. Friendship Table users are also volunteers there
b. The aging population is a resource for the valley
c. The historic district does provide some obstacles, but it is a resource and an asset. Even with that said, the HARB board hasn't done any outreach or education and in some cases the media has been an adversary to HARB. Maybe the historic district could be promoted to tourists?
d. The new owner of the Hooker Fulton building has gotten a very positive reception in town. People have thanked him for buying the building and he's gotten help from the city in the process. It is an 80,000 sf building that has had limited maintenance for the past 15-20 years, so there are hidden treasures as well as obstacles.
e. Mr. Orris, the manager of Walmart, commented that his bosses are happy that the store is here and the company has a variety of programs to help downtowns. When his boss came to visit, he loved the University and the coffee shop. The group feels that Walmart is an asset to the area.
f. Mr. Washington commented that the area makes constant and steady progress. Sometimes people forget the things that are gone before much time has passed.
g. $1/2 million was raised and offered for the movie theater revitalization – it could be 4 smaller theaters instead of two bigger ones.
h. The environmental issues at the Bradford Mall have been resolved, but the new owners are unresponsive. There have been various owners and it seems that no one really knows what to do.
14. In closing, Mr. Tripp asked the committee members to do a little “homework”. He asked that the come up with a list of positive attributes to build upon, that they come up with 1-2 major initiatives for downtown and that they consider what are the most important gateways to downtown.
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