December 2021 – SEDA Council of Governments

Snyder County Market Opens with SEDA-COG and Mifflinburg Bank & Trust Partnership

Posted on December 29, 2021 by

SEDA-COG Local Development Corporation recently assisted Beaver Valley Country Store, LLC with an SBA 504 loan for the purchase of Saylor’s Market on Route 522 in Beaver Springs, Snyder County. The proud new owners of the store are Steve Witmer, Aaron Witmer, Rick Maloyed, and John Anthony.

SEDA-COG Local Development Corporation partnered with Mifflinburg Bank & Trust Company on this project. The SBA 504 loan program offered the borrower a 25-year low interest fixed rate loan for 35% of the total financing need.
John Reichard, SEDA-COG Business Relationship Manager and Tina Showers, SEDA-COG Principal Program Analyst worked with the four partners and Amber Gabrielson, Commercial Lender at the Selinsgrove Branch of Mifflinburg Bank and Trust Company, to bring this financing package to fruition.

Rick Maloyed said they couldn’t have done this without Mifflinburg Bank & Trust and SEDA-COG. “We felt like we had a great team going into the project and both Mifflinburg Bank & Trust and SEDA-COG were very helpful in guiding us through this process.”

Beaver Valley Country Store will be offering new products in the future. They now have a bakery, which offers donuts, pies, full, half, and quarter sheet cakes as well as round cakes and cupcakes that can be custom made for any occasion. They also offer fresh produce, meats, frozen foods, a deli, and other various items. You can like and check out their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/beavervalleycountrystore for weekly flyers and events at the store.
For more information about SEDA-COG’s loans, please contact John Reichard at jreichard@seda-cog.org or Mike Morrison at mmorrison@seda-cog.org.

As a community and economic development agency, SEDA-COG enhances the quality of life and economic advantage for residents and businesses in 11 central Pennsylvania counties through its vital partnerships and initiatives. SEDA-COG also is an advocate for the interests of its communities at the state and federal levels. For more information, visit www.seda-cog.org.

Mifflinburg Bank & Trust Company is a full-service commercial bank servicing customers from eight locations in Mifflinburg, New Berlin, Lewisburg, Selinsgrove, Shamokin Dam, Millheim and Milton. The bank has 15 ATMs in Union, Snyder, Northumberland and Centre counties, and, as a member of Moneypass®, customers have access to over 37,000 ATMs nationwide. For more information on Mifflinburg Bank & Trust, visit mbtc.com.

Unemployment, Labor Force Participation and Poverty Update

Posted on December 21, 2021 by

Unemployment Rate (February 2020 to October 2021):

SEDA-COG Region, Pennsylvania, and U.S.A.
In April 2020, at the peak levels of unemployment caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic, the SEDA-COG Region’s unemployment rate was nearly equal to the United States’ rate of 14.4% and was lower than the Pennsylvania rate of 15.9%. From April 2020 until December 2020, the SEDA-COG Region’s unemployment rate was on average below both the Pennsylvania and the national unemployment rate. However, in more recent months, SEDA-COG Region’s unemployment rate has been above both the state and national rate by a fraction of a percentage.
Source: Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS)

Labor Force Participation Rate by Age Groups:

SEDA-COG Region, Pennsylvania, and U.S.A.
Labor force participation includes working-age adults who are either working or looking for work. During 2015-2019 American Community Survey, the labor force participation rate for the population of the SEDA-COG region (16 years and over) was 58.2%. This is lower than both Pennsylvania (62.8%) and the United States (63.4%). The graph illustrates labor force participation by age groups, comparing the SEDA-COG Region, the state, and the national rate. For the age groups between 45 years and over, the SEDA-COG Region’s participation rate is equivalent to the state and national rate. However, in the age groups between 20 years and 44 years, the SEDA-COG Region is below Pennsylvania and the United States. The 20 to 24 years age group is the most drastic, as the SEDA-COG Region’s participation rate is 60.7%, versus Pennsylvania at 73.8% and the U.S. at 75%. This is possibly a result of the proportionately large population of university students in the SEDA-COG Region, primarily in Centre and Columbia counties.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2019: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates

Poverty Status in the Past 12 Months (2019):

SEDA-COG Region, Pennsylvania, and U.S.A.
During 2019, 14% of the SEDA-COG’s Region was below the poverty rate. This is higher than both the state (12.4%) and the United States’ poverty level (13.4%). Six counties in the SEDA-COG region exceeded the state rate: Centre (18.2%), Clinton (15.5%), Columbia (15.0%), Lycoming (13.6%), Mifflin (13.5%), and Northumberland (13.2%). Of these six counties, Northumberland and Mifflin do not have large universities. Counties with large universities and students living off-campus, can statistically impact poverty rates. This is especially true for Centre (Penn State University) and Columbia (Bloomsburg University) and can be inferred to impact Lycoming (Pennsylvania College of Technology and Lycoming University) and Clinton (Lock Haven University).
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2019: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates

SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority Awarded $1.5 Million

Posted on December 20, 2021December 20, 2021 by

The SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority (JRA) will receive 1.5 million dollars through the PennDOT Rail Transportation Assistance Program (RTAP). The funds will be used to rehabilitate nine railroad bridges on four of the JRA’s railroads operated by the North Shore Railroad group.

The bridges to be rehabilitated are:

• Nittany & Bald Eagle Railroad (NBER) Bellefonte Branch: Benner Township, Centre County

• NBER Mainline Bridge: Worth Township, Centre County

• NBER Mainline Bridge: Union Township, Centre County

• Lycoming Valley Railroad (LVRR) AVIS IT Bridge: Woodward Township, Lycoming County

• LVRR IT Bridge: Muncy Township, Lycoming County

• Juniata Valley Railroad (JVRR) Burnham Branch: Burnham Borough, Mifflin County

• JVRR Maitland I.T: Derry Township, Mifflin County

• JVRR Maitland I.T.: Derry Township, Mifflin County

• North Shore Railroad (NSHR) Mainline: Rupert, Columbia County

*A map of where the rehabilitated bridges are located.*

Gov. Tom Wolf announced the approval of the grant along with 24 other rail freight improvement projects that will enhance freight mobility while creating or sustaining more than 200 jobs across Pennsylvania.

“Keeping goods moving efficiently has proven to be more important now than ever,” said Governor Wolf. “These investments in Pennsylvania’s rail system create jobs, support efficient freight travel and help keep the business community connected to the global economy.”

The SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority (JRA) is an eight-county joint municipal authority formed in 1983 to preserve essential rail service in central PA. The JRA owns the railroad properties in public trust, which are privately operated by the North Shore Railroad group. For the past 38 years, the JRA has become an engine for high value industrial development.

For more information, please contact Elaine Stauder, communications coordinator, SEDA-Council of Governments, at 570-522-7429 or estauder@seda-cog.org.

SEDA-COG… Building Strong Economies & Strong Communities

Grant Bolsters Centre County Small Businesses

Posted on December 17, 2021December 17, 2021 by

Through the Centre County Commissioners Small Business Grant, using funds distributed under the American Rescue Plan, over 250 small businesses received assistance totaling $2.7 million dollars.

Businesses in Centre County were able to apply for these funds from July through October of 2021. Funds could help cover operating expenses incurred during 2021. Operating expenses included but were not limited to payroll, rent, mortgage, utilities, costs of goods, supplies, raw materials, etc. The average amount of grant funds awarded was $10,767.44.

SEDA-COG worked with independent contractor, Harry Mathias, for setting up the grant parameters, application, and review. Applicants were selected based on loss of revenue, having fewer than 500 full time employees, and impact felt from the COVID-19 pandemic. SEDA-COG worked in partnership with small businesses and the Centre County Commissioners to ensure they received the support they needed, including handling the accounting and distributing of grants funds.

Kim Wheeler, Executive Director of SEDA-COG says, “The Commissioners of Centre County recognized the need to support a diverse range of small businesses during an extremely trying time. SEDA-COG is grateful for this leadership in the region that had a positive impact on so many businesses and their families. The opportunity to collaborate with our member counties and coordinate this kind of support for the region’s economy is of upmost importance to us.”

“We appreciate SEDA-COG’s assistance in awarding the money so quickly to so many small businesses throughout the 4th largest county in Pennsylvania by area. Without SEDA-COG’s help, disbursement of the small business grant funds would have been delayed,” says Centre County Commissioner Mark Higgins.

Commissioner Higgins continued, “The Centre County small business community has been very appreciative of the Commissioners’ assistance. We have actually seen fewer businesses close than usual. Since so many of our businesses survived, our downtowns are now thriving. We also want to thank the citizens of Centre County for strongly supporting their locally owned businesses.”

SEDA-COG is a community and economic development agency in Lewisburg and is one of seven Local Development Districts in Pennsylvania. SEDA-COG enhances the quality of life and economic advantage for residents and businesses in the 11 central Pennsylvania counties through its vital partnerships and initiatives.

For more information, please contact Elaine Stauder, communications coordinator, SEDA-Council of Governments, at 570-522-7429 or estaude r@seda-cog.org