Facade program lives on
EOC says renovations underway at 4 sitesBy LYDIA COTTRELL lcottrell@timesobserver.com
During the last 18 months, many transformations have occurred on main streets in Warren County.
The Warren-Forest Counties Economic Opportunity Council (EOC) has received $80,000 for the second year of funding for the Warren Regional Main Street program. There is a approximately $39,000 available for property owners to use for facade improvements in Sheffield, Sugar Grove, Tidioute and Youngsville.
According to EOC grant administrator Laurie Livingston, the money is completely available and is not tied up in state budget problems.
"The funding is secure and money has been spent," she said on thursday. "It's in the bank."
Four facades have been completed since May 2008 and four more are underway. Also, two facade project applications have been submitted for approval and are pending. Plans for added facade projects are in the works by property owners in the four communities.
The completed facades include: First Methodist Church, Youngsville; Homemade Touch Cafe, Tidioute; Sander's Outpost, Sugar Grove; and Holmberg Salon and Ralston Computers, Youngsville. There are four facades currently in progress, which are Kitelinger property at 118 Main St., Tidioute; Bower's Sport Shop, Youngsville; Polly's Market, Tidioute; and the Sugar Grove Free Library. The two pending projects are Leofsky Apartments in Youngsville and Wilcox Brothers Hardware in Sugar Grove.
Polly's Market in Tidioute will be expanding its services and foods offered to the community with the purchase of the adjacent building which is being renovated.
According to the EOC, a recent zoning change in Youngsville allows for more business and commercial development to move forward. Some properties on Main Street in the borough have been sold, some are pending and others are being inspected by potential buyers.
The Regional Main Street program is helping more than facades.
The Park Pavilion project is moving forward in Sugar Grove. Livingston indicated that organizers have contracted with Derck and Edson Architectural firm for the final construction plans to submit to the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) for approval to begin construction. Sugar Grove Borough has received $20,000 from DCNR for the project. Consultant funds from the Warren County Regional Main Street program have been used for some of the architectural fees. The consultant's fund is available to help defray some costs incurred by the communities for professional services.
The Sheffield Depot Preservation Society will be tapping into the facade programs as the group obtains the deed for the property. The front part of the roof, which is considered part of the facade, is in need of repair. Livingston said the group can apply for up to $50,000 or 50 percent of the cost, depending on the total cost of renovation.
According to the EOC, the Warren County Regional Main Street Program is alive and well and flourishing in the four communities.
For more information, contact Kathleen Reitinger, Regional Main Street coordinator, at 814-406-0045 or reitinger@wfcaa.org.
Facebook
MySpace
Digg
Stumble
Mixx
Fark
del.icio.us
LiveSpaces
|
samibigelow
|
|
|---|---|
|
10-20-09 9:25 AM
|
oops, meant to say "what they do" I need more coffee.
|
|
samibigelow
|
|
|
10-20-09 9:24 AM
|
The good old boys in the city have been doing what hey do for so long, they won't stop. Those meetings that happen at the Club, the golf clubhouse, and in some of the buildings on Market will continue during the day and in the evenings. Intersting what cars I observe in my walks and where.
|
|
samibigelow
|
|
|
10-20-09 9:21 AM
|
Publius, our state rep voted against funding for downtowns. But, the argument I have is for the small towns that need some help. The cities usually have money, they have more dense population and more tax base and don't suffer as much, they also have access to internet, cell phones and more. It seems the foundations and local companies help the city more than they do the county communities. My observations.
|
|
Publius
|
|
|
10-19-09 6:32 PM
|
Sami: I AM telling the boys in the city to stop. Your citation of the hotel in North Warren and the one downtown are part of my argument. I absolutely agree with you that it is being done in the city. And I absolutely oppose that as well. As for where the money comes from, do we not vote for state representatives?
|
|
samibigelow
|
|
|
10-19-09 4:24 PM
|
Pub, the good old boys are in the city, not in the county. The small business owners in the county have fewer customers to rely on than the city does. The taxes are used by cities to do the same thing, but you don't tell them to stop, do you? Reader, who are you voting out? This money comes from the state offices. If we do not get some of it here in Warren County it will go to larger cities and more populated counties. I want what is fair to us. My tax dollars should come back here to pay for improvements. I don't want them to go to Erie or Pittsburgh. The hotel in North Warren was built with the owner's money, and not with tax dollars. He stuck his neck out to build it and I hope it works for him. I read an article the other day about the man who is behind the convention center and the condos, interesting reading. Something about Meadville. I'm just sayin'
|
|
Publius
|
|
|
10-19-09 2:42 PM
|
Did tax dollars pay for the condos? No. But there was public money involved in making it all possible.
|
|
Publius
|
|
|
10-19-09 2:40 PM
|
Sami: You blow your argument when you suppose who I am or associate with. In my opinion, if there is a good ol' boy network, that group has benefited royally from these kinds of programs. As for the hotel/conference center, I believe the use of my tax dollars to underwrite a business that is in direct competition with other businesses is just plain wrong. As for the guy with the townhouses and the guy with the hotel, they are two different people, but both dipping from the same pot of pork.
|
|
samibigelow
|
|
|
10-19-09 12:36 PM
|
Pub, this program has been in service for many years. It helps small business owners to do some necessary repairs to their storefronts. Oh, you probably are one of the wealthy ones who does not need any help. Or one of the good old boys in the City. The private investor for the conference center also owes thousands of dollars in taxes to the city, but they still love him and lunch with him at the Club. Hmmm, i wonder why? I'm just sayin', if it sounds fishy it must be fishy. I see his condos still are not selling. Did tax dollars pay for them too?
|
|
reader
|
|
|
10-16-09 8:44 PM
|
you can put lipstick and a dress on a pig, but under it all it is still a pig. too bad the home of the battleship and destroyer didn't get any money. and i think the businesses should pay their own way, not using my tax money. i don't get any money to improve my home and i pay taxes like everyone else. VOTE THEM ALL OUT. SHOW THEM WHO IS REALLY BOSS.
|
|
Publius
|
|
|
10-16-09 3:05 PM
|
Perhaps if a businessman's business plan doesn't include provision for upgrades/improvements to his physical plant, then his business should either live within that plan, or his plan is flawed and he shouldn't be in business in the first place. This wouldn't bother me as much if there was some requirement to create new employment, but I don't think facade improvements do that.
|
|
Publius
|
|
|
10-16-09 2:57 PM
|
I just think that the whole P2P -- public to private partnership -- thing has grown beyond what it was originally intended. For instance, take the Hotel/Conference center in Warren. A local entrepreneur borrows private capital to build a new motel in North Warren, while another gets millions at little or no interest through the state for one downtown which will compete with the one in North Warren. There is something that bothers me about that.
|
|
writer10
|
|
|
10-16-09 1:40 PM
|
These days due to high taxes and such, businesses can no longer afford to make their sites look nicer. If they did that, than no profit would be left over for the owners, at least no enough to make a decent living on.
|
|
Publius
|
|
|
10-16-09 12:41 PM
|
Anyone remember the old days when businesses used their own money or borrowed it from a commercial bank (i.e. another business) to improve their facilities?
|