DNS Admin – Page 35 – SEDA Council of Governments

Statewide “Stay-at-home” order for all of Pennsylvania

Posted on April 2, 2020 by DNS Admin

Governor Wolf has issued a statewide “stay-at-home” order for all counties in Pennsylvania in order to limit the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

State residents are directed to stay home unless they are involved in certain essential activities, such as collecting food and groceries, picking up prescriptions or medical supplies, going to or from work in life-sustaining businesses, caring for a family member or pet in another household, or other essential travel.

Thirty-three counties were already under these restrictions; the order now covers all counties and will remain in effect until April 30.

People who need to leave home for life-sustaining activities are encouraged to practice social distancing by maintaining at least six feet of separation from other individuals, washing hands with soap and water frequently, covering coughs and sneezes with a sleeve or elbow and regularly cleaning high-contact surface areas.

More guidance on activities that are allowed during the stay-at-home order are available here.

SEDA-COG Operational Response to COVID-19

Posted on March 25, 2020 by DNS Admin

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and Gov. Tom Wolf’s order to close the physical locations of non-life-sustaining businesses, SEDA-Council of Governments (SEDA-COG) has closed its office(s) during this time, and in-person meetings have been cancelled/postponed.

We continue to serve you during this time of crisis. Staff are working remotely and are available by phone and email. This includes assistance to businesses and communities.

However, our Weatherization and Housing Rehabilitation work is not permitted to continue until the governor lifts his order because of in-home contact with clients. We will resume weatherization and housing rehabilitation services as soon as we are permitted.

Importantly, our Crisis services are still functioning. The Crisis program repairs a malfunctioning heating unit at no cost to residents who qualify for fuel assistance, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The Crisis program runs until April 15 this year. For residents whose heat source is malfunctioning, they should call their county assistance office. The county assistance office will forward the completed referral to SEDA-COG to assign to a subcontractor. We encourage any clients with questions or concerns to reach out to us at information@seda-cog.org and we will direct your inquiries to the relevant department.

Thank you, and stay safe!

Request for Proposals for Rural Broadband Deployment in Mifflin, Juniata, & Perry County

Posted on March 6, 2020December 14, 2020 by DNS Admin

SEDA-Council of Governments (SEDA-COG) is requesting proposals for a pilot project from Internet Service Providers (ISP) and Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISP), to expand broadband service in three selected areas within Juniata, Mifflin and Perry Counties. The purpose of this RFP is to provide a minimum of 25mb down and 3mb up service to the Reeds Gap area in Juniata County; the South River Road area, South of McVeytown, in Mifflin County; and the Horse Valley Road area in Perry County. The selected proposal will be eligible to apply for low interest loan (1%) up to the amount of $95,000 per site. Loan eligibility, terms, and requirements can be found in Section III.

There is also a potential opportunity to make additional funding available from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) in the form of a reimbursable grant up to $47,000 that will be paired with the $95,000 loan, for a maximum loan/grant amount of $142,000 per County. The project ratio for the loan/grant option will be 67% (up to $95,000) in loans, and 33% (up to $47,000) in reimbursement grants.

Complete proposal details, including the required proposal format, may be obtained by contacting:

Scott Kramer
SEDA-COG
201 Furnace Road
Lewisburg, PA 17837

Proposals will be accepted until 2:00pm prevailing time, April 24th, 2020, at which time they will be publicly opened at the offices of SEDA-COG. Proposals shall be on the forms required, sealed and clearly marked on the outside, “RURAL BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT PROPOSAL,” and submitted to:

Scott Kramer
SEDA-COG
201 Furnace Road
Lewisburg, PA 17837

Proposals that are faxed or e-mailed to SEDA-COG cannot be accepted.

RFP – Rural Broadband Deployment Pilot (final)Download

Broadband-RLF-Guidelines-final Download

Mifflin County Pilot Area Download

Juniata County Pilot Area Download

Perry County Pilot Area Download

CrownCastle WISP Resource Guide Download

CrownCastle On-Air Process Download

Questions

Q: Would you please send mapping that better establishes exactly where the Mifflin Co area is? Ideally, this would be KML or GIS Shapefiles. Or, at the very least a high definition PDF with 2 maps:
1. Overall map, showing the area relative to it’s region
2. A map clearly labeling roads in the target area.
The map provided does not clearly lay out exactly where the target area is.

A: We are including a Zip file of the project areas covering all three counties in KMZ format. Download –Tri-County Project Areas

Q: Will the RFP submission date be extended due to the COVID19 pandemic?

A: We are extending the RFP submission deadline to 2PM, Friday, May 1st at which time they will be publicly opened at the offices of SEDA-COG.

Q: Will the offices of SEDA-COG be open for delivery on the RFP submission due date?

A: During the Governors “Stay at Home” order, the offices of SEDA-COG will be technically closed to the public, however mail and deliveries are still being collected daily and SEDA-COG will have personnel on site at 2PM, Friday, May 1st. Anyone who intends to be present for the opening , must adhere to the states social distancing guidelines.

National Census day is April 1, 2020

Posted on March 5, 2020March 5, 2020 by DNS Admin

Many Pennsylvanians may wonder why the 2020 Census matters. There are three simple reasons. First, it’s in the Constitution that every resident must be counted every ten years. Second, it’s important to participate to make sure we have fair representation in Congress. And lastly, our census count will affect the next decade of federal spending, policy, and decision-making.

It’s about fair representation. The census is used to decide how many seats each state gets in the U.S. House of Representatives. Pennsylvania has 18 Congressional representatives. We used to have 19 but lost a seat after the 2010 Census.

Census data are used to decide how $675 billion in federal public funding is spent every year. Federal spending on programs like highway planning and construction, transit formula grants, and transit capital investment grants. Pennsylvania gets $26.8 billion annually from just our 16 largest federally-funded programs. That’s about $2,000 per Pennsylvanian each year.
Everyone counts. Be a good neighbor and spread awareness in your community. Information and outreach resources are available at pa.gov/census.