COVID-19 – SEDA Council of Governments

SEDA-COG Assists Centre County Restaurant

Posted on February 22, 2022 by

Lori and Jessica Sabatino, co-owners of Alloy Kitchen, LLC, are opening their restaurant’s doors on February 23, 2022, after a year of planning, construction, and patiently waiting for equipment to arrive. They are located in Titan Hollow, a place of enchantment nestled down in Victorian Bellefonte, Pennsylvania at 2042 Axemann Road.

Alloy Kitchen, LLC partnered with SEDA-COG and received a SEDA-COG EDA COVID-19 loan for the purchase of the kitchen equipment for the new restaurant.

“We are very happy to have played a part in this new start-up in the Bellefonte area of Centre County. The SEDA-COG EDA COVID-19 loan program was designed not only to assist existing businesses facing financial hardships due to COVID-19, but to assist individuals who were impacted by the pandemic as well. Lori had been displaced from her restaurant job and this endeavor with Jessica will allow her to continue her passion in the food service industry,” said John Reichard, SEDA-COG Business Relationship Manager.

Lori has been in the food and beverage industry for almost 30 years. Her creativity and passion are apparent in Alloy’s diverse menu which brings familiarity, while also forging something unique. Alloy Kitchen, LLC is a full-service restaurant with take-out sales available. They are partnering with Mad MacIntosh Cidery and Witches Hollow Winery, and Titan Events, who have a large event space and tasting room in Titan Hollow. This space will be available to host events such as weddings, baby showers, holiday parties, birthday parties, and retirement parties. The restaurant will be open Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. You can check them out on their website (https://titanhollow.com/), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Alloy-Kitchen-112767994227295/about/), or Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/alloy_kitchen/)

For more information about SEDA-COG’s loans, please contact John Reichard at jreichard@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.

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

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

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

Grant for Penn Township, Snyder County businesses open until October 30

Posted on September 29, 2021September 29, 2021 by DNS Admin

For a limited time, funding assistance is on the way to micro-businesses in Penn Township, Snyder County that were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Until October 30, microenterprises (those with five employees or fewer) in the township can apply for a $19,741 Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus Relief (CDBG-CV) grant. Funds will be in response to damage caused by quarantine and will prevent further damage by keeping businesses operational during future quarantine and social distancing mandates.

Eligible business expenses include:

• Payroll
• Rent/mortgage
• Utilities (such as oil, gas, electric, water/sewer, internet, phone)
• Supplies (needed for day-to-day operations up to 90 days)
• Equipment purchases needed to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus
• Insurance
• Accounting
• Legal
• Advertising

Business owners must meet income eligibility requirements. Interested applicants within Penn Township should contact the Greater Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce (GSVCC) at 570-743-4100.

Snyder County, on behalf of Penn Township, has allocated the CDBG-CV grant because of businesses shutting down during stay-at-home orders. SEDA-Council of Governments (SEDA-COG) is administering the funds for the county.

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 communities at the state and federal levels. For more information, visit www.seda-cog.org.

For more information, please contact Kristen Moyer, communications manager, SEDA-Council of Governments, at 570-522-7212 or kmoyer@seda-cog.org