News – Page 9 – SEDA Council of Governments

The Borough of Milton is Looking to Expand Waitlist for Housing Rehabilitation Grant

Posted on October 31, 2022 by

The Borough of Milton had received a $500,000 housing rehabilitation grant and interested residents who live within the town limits should apply now to get on the waiting list for the no-cost repairs.

Qualified residents may receive up to $65,000 each for home repairs.

Interested residents may call SEDA-COG’s call Stacy Anderson at 570-524-4491 Ext. 7215.

Eligible repairs include structural, roofing, plumbing, electrical, heating/furnace, window replacement, radon and lead-based paint mitigation, and energy-related improvements. Modifications for mobility-impaired residents are also eligible within this program. Homeowners must maintain home residency over a five-year period from the date of signing in order for this service to be received at no cost.

“SEDA-Council of Governments (SEDA-COG) manages the entire process for the homeowner,” said Teri Provost, Chief of the agency’s Community Services Division.

Provost continued, “Not only does the homeowner get necessary home repairs, but they also get the benefit of going through the process hassle-free as we manage the logistics from start to finish.”

Milton Borough Manager, Jessie Novinger, says, “this program has been very helpful to our residents allowing for useful and needed improvements and we encourage all interested residents to inquire with SEDA-COG.”

Qualifications:

• Must live in the Borough limits of Milton, not just a Milton address.

• Own the home or have Life Rights to live in it.

• Meet income qualifications based on household size.

• Be current on local taxes and municipal utility bills.

• Provide proof of homeowner’s insurance.

• If located in a Flood Zone, provide proof of flood insurance.

• Live in the home an additional five years.

Additional requirements may apply.

Annual Gross Income Limits:

Family size: 1 – $40,850; 2 – $46,650; 3 – $52,500; 4 – $58,300; 5 – $63,000; 6 – $67,650; 7 – $72,300; 8 – $77,000.

Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology (CPI) receives $497,760 in Appalachian Regional Commission funds

Posted on October 20, 2022October 20, 2022 by

SEDA-COG recently assisted the Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology (CPI) with an Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) grant that was awarded in the amount of $497,760.

CPI is located in Centre County and serves a region that encompasses a 45-mile radius. According to their website, “founded in 1969, CPI was built to meet the career and technical needs of high school students in the Bald Eagle Area, Bellefonte Area, Penns Valley Area, and State College School Districts. Additionally, over 1,300 adult learners annually receive training to upgrade their current skills, learn new skills, or make a career change to better their quality of life.”

The ARC Funds will be used to purchase equipment to support the CPI Health Science Building Project. The new training facility, when complete, will create 1,095 direct jobs within the healthcare industries. The equipment will include surgery tables; training kits and stations; exam tables; EMS passenger responder electric vehicle and charging station; ultrasound equipment; stretchers and traction tables. The training facility will allow CPI to expand its healthcare educational programming to train the workforce in the region to meet the unmet demands for skilled workforce.

“We are very excited and pleased to have worked with SEDA-COG to secure ARC grant funding to support equipment in the Health Sciences Buildings and for our existing healthcare programs” said Todd Taylor, Vice President of Post-Secondary Education for CPI. “ARC grant funding will help us provide students throughout central Pennsylvania with highly technical training leading to careers in the high-growth healthcare employment sector,” said Taylor. The new facility will increase CPI’s capacity to 800 students. It is anticipated that 374 students will graduate on an annual basis and will immediately become employed within the healthcare industries.

The nation continues to be confronted with unmet demands for a trained workforce. Covid-19 has placed a greater demand on all industries. Prior to Covid-19, the United States was already facing a huge shortage in skilled, licensed healthcare workers. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS), the U.S. will need to hire more than 2.3 million healthcare workers by 2025 to take care of our aging population. More specifically, the United States will be short 446,300 home health aides, 98,700 medical and lab technicians, 95,000 nursing assistants, and 29,400 nurse practitioners in 2025.

SEDA-COG’s Betsy Lockwood, Director of Project Development and Grants, applied for this grant on behalf of the Institute.

On the grant’s benefits, Lockwood said, “The ARC investment in this project will enable healthcare facilities to secure a trained workforce to fill their unmet needs. It will also expand and strengthen community systems (education, healthcare, housing, childcare, and others) that help our community members obtain a job, stay on the job, and advance a long, financially sustaining career pathway.”

Delta Development Group, Inc. aided with the preparation of the grant. To date, Delta has assisted CPI with the original market study to determine the need for new post-secondary training programs, and secured over $14.5 million in federal and state grant/loan funding for the actual construction of the Health Sciences Building.

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.

SEDA-COG Offers Clean & Tune Service at No Cost for Qualified Individuals

Posted on October 12, 2022 by

With colder weather approaching, SEDA-Council of Governments (SEDA-COG) is continuing to offer the LIHEAP Clean and Tune program for residents.

This program is a benefit available to provide homeowners and residents the assistance to maintain their new or repaired heating systems and to avoid interruption.

Annual servicing of your heating system will allow them to perform better and ensures your family’s safety. The more efficient the heating system runs, the lower your energy bills will be.

Heating systems should be serviced yearly to keep them running smoothly, improve their life span and heating efficiency. It provides general service with the goal of preventing crisis calls.

Residents should contact their local county assistance office to see if they qualify for this program.

Mandy Fox, chief of SEDA-COG’s Weatherization program, said, “Annual servicing of your furnace is necessary to ensure the safety of you and your family. It is no different than having your vehicle inspected annually.” Last year, there were 210 homes that capitalized on these funds.

SEDA-COG’s Weatherization program serves a seven-county area: Columbia, Juniata, Mifflin, Montour, Perry, Snyder, and Union.

If residents don’t qualify for Clean & Tune assistance, they may still qualify for SEDA-COG’s Weatherization services. SEDA-COG’s Weatherization services may provide furnace repair, although it is not immediate help, as it would be through Crisis. SEDA-COG’s Weatherization program can be reached at 570-522-7219.

Crisis Income Eligibility Guidelines

Family size: 1 – $20,385; 2 – $27,465; 3 – $34,545; 4 – $41,625; 5 – $48,705; 6 – $55,785; 7 – $62,865; 8 – $69,945.

County Assistance Offices

Columbia: 570-387-4232

Juniata: 717-436-2158

Mifflin: 717-242-6095

Montour: 1-866-410-2093

Perry: 717-582-5038

Snyder: 570-372-1721

Union: 570-524-2201

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.

Local Projects Receive Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) Grants

Posted on October 5, 2022 by

Two projects in Perry and Lycoming Counties recently received Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) grants.

$500,000 was awarded to Clarks Ferry Tavern for the renovation of the historic building as an official Perry County “Welcome and Interpretive Center.” The Clarks Ferry Tavern is located in the downtown of the Borough of Duncannon, at 603 N. Market Street. The Tavern will welcome hikers on the Appalachian Trail, the 9/11 Memorial Trail, and thousands of tourists seeking to explore the county recreational opportunities and heritage sites.

The 1789 Clark’s Ferry Tavern and Inn located at 603 N. Marketing Street, Duncannon, Perry County, was a rest stop for travelers heading west into the American frontier. Steeped in history, the Tavern served as a stagecoach stop, an inn, the town’s post office, and a Civil War recruiting office. At the turn of the 1800s, travelers would check into the inn while waiting to cross the Susquehanna River. Today it is a heavily visited tourist site. Hikers also know Duncannon as the halfway point on the Appalachian Trail, stretching from Maine to Georgia.

Now a National Register of Historic Places site, Clarks Ferry Tavern will be a multi-use building suitable for historical interpretation and a Welcome Center to the Juniata River Valley and the Appalachian Region of Central Pennsylvania. The Clarks Ferry Tavern (CFT) Welcome Center is planned as a commercial enterprise that provides rental space for public events. The ARC and matching funds will include renovating the building to provide a catering kitchen, a large community room, break-out rooms, and restrooms. The building will also become ADA compliant and bring the building up to 21st-century codes.

$1,000,000 was awarded to the Timber Run Access Road located in Brady Township, Lycoming County. This project involves the construction of a new 2,600 LF (0.492 miles) access road through the Timber Run Industrial Park. The project will include a new 24 foot-wide access road with concrete curbing and associated storm drainage improvements and end in a cul-de-sac. This project will serve 396 acres, including one to four lots of varying sizes designated as a Keystone Opportunity Zone (KOZ) until 2027. At full buildout, this project could employ over 300 jobs.

The Timber Run Industrial Park (TRIP) was developed to re-use the farm the County had purchased for use as a soil borrow area for its Landfill. The TRIP offers 396 acres of industrially zoned property with good access to major highways, US 15/I-80 and the nearby Williamsport Airport. This project will encourage the protection, modernization, and expansion of existing businesses and job opportunities, and where appropriate, encourage entrepreneurship and the recruitment of new business and industry consistent with the character of the Region.

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.