Progress in the past, issues of the present and problems down the road were the topics of discussion for the Warren County Commissioners on Friday morning.

During the Eggs and Issues program sponsored by the Warren County Chamber of Business and Industry, Commissioner Terry Hawk recounted the success of three programs which has taken shape since the commissioner spoke at the venue last years.

In terms of the Warren County Redevelopment Authority, he said two-thirds of the municipalities in the county have passed a blighted property ordinance and an ordinance to create an intergovernmental review committee. Those municipalities have agreed to identify problem properties and notify the owner.

"If compliance is not achieved" the properties go before the review committee, then to the county planning commission before going to the redevelopment authority.

The authority has reviewed six addresses so far.

"That program is a success," Hawk said, adding that the identification process creates a dialogue and problems can be solved before the property is forward to the planning commission or the redevelopment authority.

Hawk also congratulated the county on being prepared for disaster with the completion of the Warren County Pandemic Plan. In addition, the Warren County Continuity Plan is nearly complete and outlines other areas to conduct county business "if the courthouse was rendered unusable."

Hawk updated those in attendance on the future of the county's Bike/Hike Trail. He said construction will begin in the spring to refurbish the existing 2.7 miles of trail and add another 4,000 feet near the Warren Mall.

"Our goal some day is to take it to the New York State line and tie into their trail system," he added.

Hawk also marveled at the success of the religion program at the Warren County Jail and said inmate numbers are down.

"I believe, as does our Prison Board, that our prison is a mirror of the our community's problems," he said.

Hawk called the program "efficient" and "cost-effective."

When Commissioner John Bortz took his turn at the podium, he used to opportunity to again relay the issues the county has with Allegheny National Forest in terms of effective communication.

"The Allegheny National Forest is a bureaucracy with which we are in a relationship," he said, adding that the national forest owns 26 percent of the county's "real estate."

"We have to ask to ourselves what is the goal locally for that relationship," Bortz said.

He went on to explain that the timber industry finds the ANF to be "an unreliable source of timber" due to the contraints of NEPA (National Environment Policy Act).

It's a similar situation with oil and gas production, Bortz argued.

"In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania we recognize the subsurface owner is the dominant owner (of property)," he said, adding that the rigors of NEPA and the bureaucracy of the U.S. Forest Service are giant hurdles for oil and gas producers.

Because of the ANF's effect on the local economy, Bortz wants clear communication.

"The local administration of the ANF needs to interface with (leaders) at the county level," he said. "It may be time to get this in front of a judge."

Commissioner Chairman John Eggleston spent time talking about issues on a larger scale, specifically the federal debt which he stated was $11.9 trillion.

"In 2007, we paid $51 million per hour in interest," he said, adding that debt interest payments ranks as the fourth largest expenditure in the federal budget.

"That did not build a road, that did not educate a child, it did not feed anyone," he said.

Eggleston described the debt as a non-partisan problem.

"If we don't discover how to reach fiscal responsibility, we are going to have a big problem," he admitted.

In considering the federal debt, Eggleston wondered if America could survive if federal and state bureaucracy is not downsized.

"Why do we have a Department of Homeland Security, because we're scared?" he asked. "We don't ask those questions, why not?"