Featured – Page 43 – SEDA Council of Governments

Lycoming County awards COVID relief funds to businesses

Posted on October 20, 2020 by DNS Admin

The Lycoming County commissioners voted Tuesday to award up to $1.5 million of their COVID relief funds to 165 businesses in the county.

The county had received a $10.2 million COVID-19 County Relief Block Grant (CRBG) from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Securities Act (CARES Act), through the state Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED).

County Commissioner Scott Metzger said that while they had originally dedicated $1 million to the small business recovery effort, they decided to increase it up to $1.5 million.

“Small businesses are the backbone of our county. We are dedicated to helping them and others recover from the severest impacts of the pandemic,” Metzger said.

Businesses could apply from Aug. 31 through Sept. 18 to receive part of the CRBG grant the county received to assist them with COVID-19 expenses.

To receive their full allocated grant amounts, businesses must provide documentation to show they actually incurred those COVID-related expenses. Checks to the businesses will be issued when the county receives that paperwork.

The full list of businesses that will receive grants can be viewed here.

Grants were available for businesses with annual revenues prior to March 1, 2020 of $3 million or less with 100 or fewer full-time employees.

Funds can be used for eligible costs from March 1 to Dec. 30, 2020 including operating costs, rent, mortgage interest, utility payments, eligible capital expenses, COVID-19 mitigation plans, food loss, outdoor dining equipment, and more. Invoiced documentation is required.

The Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber of Commerce facilitated the process by receiving the grant applications, and the grant review committee included Nancy Eischeid, Jason Fink, John Houser, Matt McDermott, Kristen Moyer, Joe Reighard, and Shannon Rossman.

SEDA-Council of Governments (SEDA-COG) is assisting the county by providing professional expertise and grant administrative services, as well as activity development and management to ensure accuracy and adherence with federal and state regulations.

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.

Shamokin City Council adopts revitalization plan

Posted on October 19, 2020 by DNS Admin

Shamokin City Council voted unanimously to adopt the Shamokin Area Implementation Plan for Economic Revitalization on Oct. 12.

The plan, also known as the GoShamokin! Plan, responds to Shamokin’s community-driven desire to proactively reinvent itself, and was created in partnership with the city and SEDA-Council of Governments (SEDA-COG).

Shamokin Mayor John Brown said the plan is central to the city moving into revitalization and thanked the parties involved.

“On behalf of the city, we are so appreciative to the collaborative effort of SEDA-COG, especially their Revitalization Coordinator Betsy Kramer, and the business community and SABER for putting together a plan to move Shamokin into a new era of revitalization,” Brown said.

After extensive community research, the plan focuses on the core of downtown, including the blocks of Independence Street between Market and Shamokin streets. At the center of the plan is creating successful places in the city as the building blocks of revitalizing the city. It lists ways to stimulate building rehabilitation and business expansion through public-private partnerships and resources.

The plan states this approach “fosters the greatest potential for creating jobs, reducing crime, enhancing community pride, and elevating the overall quality of life for Shamokin’s residents.”

Following are the plan’s key recommendations:

Foster public-private partnerships to make bricks-and-mortar redevelopment and business expansion happen;
Make the city development-ready through sound policies and promotion;
Perform a makeover of Independence Street focused on complete street improvements that greatly enhance the pedestrian-oriented and aesthetic appeal of the city’s Main Street;
Explore interim and pop-up solutions to address blight and vacancy downtown;
Create multi-purpose public spaces downtown as civic amenities and economic development venue;
Advance critical infrastructure improvements.

The plan also includes next steps.

Council’s plan adoption means they agree that a strategic approach to revitalization will best serve the community. Council will need to approve the plan’s individual steps, such as for grant applications. The plan is a living document that will evolve and change as needed, along with funding strategies.

In 2019, SEDA-COG created a partnership with Shamokin and SABER to guide the city into a revitalization revolution.

Betsy Kramer, SEDA-COG revitalization coordinator, was the point of contact for the plan and created the Request for Proposals. After receiving six proposals and conducting three interviews, Stromberg Garrigan & Associates (SGA) was the winning consultant and created the plan. Conducting the interviews were Kathy Vetovich, president of Shamokin Area Businesses for Economic Revitalization (SABER); Kathy Jeremiah, who was executive director of Faith Alliance for Revitalization (FAR) at the time; and Christine Jacoby, district constituent outreach specialist to state Rep. Kurt Masser.

“This is an exciting time for the city with momentum building toward Shamokin’s revitalization revolution. Mayor John Brown, city council, Shamokin businesses, and all our partners have incredible vision for making Shamokin the best it can be. We are honored to guide that momentum into one concerted effort,” Kramer said.

Vetovich said SEDA-COG’s efforts are vital to coordinating Shamokin’s roadmap for success.

“Before SEDA-COG got involved in Shamokin, we were all over the board. We didn’t know how to pull it off, how to get the resources we need to truly revitalize Shamokin. The support SEDA-COG has offered has been game changing,” Vetovich said.

To view the plan, visit www.goshamokin.com.

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.

High-speed internet to expand in four counties

Posted on October 14, 2020 by DNS Admin

High-speed internet service is expanding in four counties because of a $2.5 million grant awarded to SEDA-Council of Governments (SEDA-COG) on behalf of the counties.

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) POWER grant funds internet expansion to unreached areas in Clinton, Lycoming, Northumberland, and Union counties, reaching over 1,500 households, including over 20 businesses.

The grant will supplement $4 million of SEDA-COG’s revolving loan funds. The selected internet service provider will match these funds with $1.5 million of private investment funds.

SEDA-COG will provide funding through reimbursable grants and low-interest loans to incentivize an internet service provider to expand internet service into unserved and underserved rural regions of the four counties where traditional buildout is otherwise economically infeasible.

As the main grant applicant, Union County Commissioner Preston Boop said this is great news.

“Expanding broadband in this region and extending service to help the unserved and underserved has been a priority here in Union County and we appreciate everyone coming together to make this happen,” Boop said.

SEDA-COG Board President and Columbia County Commissioner Rich Ridgway emphasized the important role internet access plays, especially during the pandemic.

“We’ve learned the importance of the internet during the pandemic. It’s important in our business and private lives not to mention our school students. Hopefully, this will make everyone’s lives less stressful moving forward,” Ridgway said.

Mike Fisher, SEDA-COG assistant executive director, thanked the legislators and four counties and said this will build on SEDA-COG’s other internet expansion project.

“We could not have done this without the support of U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, U.S. Rep. Fred Keller, state Sens. Joe Scarnati, Gene Yaw, and John Gordner, and state Reps. Garth Everett, Lynda Schlegel Culver, and Donna Oberlander. We especially thank the leadership of Clinton, Lycoming, Northumberland, and Union counties and their staff,” Fisher said. “This is a true private-public partnership effort to bridge the last-mile funding gap, one that SEDA-COG is currently proving works in Juniata County with our pilot project.”

Residents & Businesses Reached by County

Clinton: 360 homes and seven businesses in the area east of Loganton and Bucktail Medical Center in Renovo comprising 14 miles of fiber in a 7-mile area.

Lycoming: 190 homes and five businesses in Moreland Township comprising 16 miles of fiber in a 7-mile area.

Northumberland: 240 homes and seven businesses in the Rt. 147 area south of Sunbury to Fishers Ferry. This includes Upper Augusta, Lower Augusta, and Rockefeller townships, comprising 15 miles of fiber in a 6-mile area.

Union: 750 homes and five businesses in Mazeppa and Kelly Township comprising of 15 miles of fiber in an 8-mile area.

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.

Application window extended for Snyder County entities to apply for COVID relief funds

Posted on October 14, 2020October 14, 2020 by DNS Admin

The application window has been extended for Snyder County small businesses, nonprofits, and municipalities to apply to receive part of a grant the county received to assist them with COVID-19 expenses.

The application deadline is now Oct. 30 for the COVID-19 County Relief Block Grant (CRBG) funds. It was originally Oct. 2.

The county allocated $1.3 million CRBG funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Securities Act (CARES Act), through the state Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) to this program.

Funds can be used for eligible costs from March 1 to Dec. 30, 2020 for the prevention, preparedness, and response to the COVID-19 crisis. For a full list of eligibility requirements and grant application forms, www.snydercounty.org. The due dates on the forms can be disregarded as they reflect the original deadline.

SEDA-Council of Governments (SEDA-COG) is assisting the county by providing professional expertise and grant administrative services, as well as activity development and management to ensure accuracy and adherence with federal and state regulations.

County Commissioner Joe Kantz said he hopes more businesses will apply by the end of the month.

“We’d especially like to see more small businesses apply for these grants. We’ve extended the deadline for this opportunity to help them recover from the pandemic’s effects,” Kantz said.

Fully completed applications are due by 11:59 p.m. Oct. 30 via email to SEDA-COG’s Jamie Shrawder at jshrawder@seda-cog.org or faxed to 570-524-9190. Mailed forms must be postmarked by Oct. 28 and sent to Snyder County Commissioners, ATTN: Tony Phillips, Chief Clerk, P.O. Box 217, 9 W. Market St., Middleburg, PA 17842.

For more information, contact Shrawder at the email above or at 570-522-7263.

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.