‘Desperation’ in project

Dear Editor,

I too would like to stop the planned Hudson development of elderly housing, mainly because the property is perhaps the last piece of prime real estate in downtown Warren.

We already have elderly housing downtown next to Soldiers & Sailors Park / Music in the Park: Allegheny Point Apartments. It was sold under the pretense of downtown economic development and fueled by state grant money. (Hudson is also fueled by grants)

I know several folks residing in Allegheny Point Park. Being elderly on a fixed income is tough. Buying food and required medicines breaks the bank for many. Having extra money to dine out and shop is hard to come by. One resident, a friend, couldn’t even afford cable TV or WiFi. For Wifi she’d open a front window and hope to catch a signal from across the street. Many seniors are faced with these challenges.

Warren has seen more than its share of greedy developers who know how to work the grant system. Indeed, there are developers who only develop when grants are available.

So why did the city of Warren approve this project some years back? Desperation.

Think of the city as the last person in a bar at night, so desperate, they’ll hop in bed with anyone. Warren was desperate to make some kind of development happen, even if we didn’t need it.

Even our silent partner, the WCCBI, knows well that the Hudson development is not conducive to the ongoing waterfront plans or downtown revitalization. Here I am torn because I do love the sound of crickets.

The wonderful thing about Warren is that you can step away from the news for several years and find you didn’t miss a thing. We suffer from lack of visionary leadership

Danny Ristau,

Warren

Historic site an ‘eyesore’

Dear Editor,

Some residents of Warren oppose the building of a senior housing complex at the corner of Liberty Street and Pennsylvania Avenue because a building proposed to be demolished is reportedly on the National Register of Historic Places because it is of the Beaux Arts Style of architecture with a weedy gravel lot beside it. I applaud their concern for the appearance of downtown.

I had to look up that particular architectural style, but nowhere in that description does it include broken trophies in the foggy bug-encrusted windows with a collapsing ceiling and peeling wallpaper as a backdrop. Nor does it include a tacky rotting plywood false facade that covers over any remarkable architectural detail.

As things stand now, I think an out-of-place apartment building would be visually preferable, but if this building is so architecturally important, effort should be made to locate the owner and have him or her make that building look like it belongs on the National Register of Historic Places. As it stands now it is a hideous run down eyesore.

Elizabeth Buonocore,

Warren

Higher standards

Dear Editor,

I am asking for your support of critical financial aid in this time of health crisis to increase Personal Assistant Service, Home and Community Based Service and ODP and OLTL provider rates to support some of PA’s most vulnerable older adults and people with disabilities. These services enable our participants to live in their own homes and communities instead of a nursing facility or hospital, the importance of which is all the more evident in the wake of the COVID-19 health crisis.

Now, more than ever, home-based care plays a critical role in keeping people safe and healthy in their homes. I ask that you please support adequate rates that match inflation and any minimum wage increases for HCBS and PAS services.

We are asking you to support:

— The funding necessary for a $32.32 per hour rate for OLTL Community HealthChoices and Act 150 services, the same rate as that determined by the PA Department of Human Services Office of Developmental Programs for very similar services;

— Setting the Medicaid Fee-For-Service rate to $32.32, so that managed care organizations are required by contract to pay the PAS providers this rate at minimum;

— Establishing by law a PAS rate setting methodology in consultation with PAS providers to capture the costs involved in providing high-quality, reliable in-home PAS services and supports, similar to the rate setting methodology established for Office of Developmental Programs’ rates and conduct that rate study soon; and

— Establishing by law a PAS rate resetting schedule of every three years for PAS services, similar to the rate resetting schedule established for Office of Developmental Programs’ rates.

I am happy to discuss this further with you at your convenience.

Thank you in advance for your support.

Michelle Klark,

Warren