News

Grant available for Berwick restaurants impacted by pandemic

Restaurants in Berwick Borough that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic may be eligible to receive grants from Berwick Borough.

Berwick Borough Council has allocated $55,799 of Community Development Block Grant-Coronavirus Response (CDBG-CV) program funding to alleviate the pandemic’s impacts on these restaurants.

The deadline to apply is Feb. 26.

Funds can be used for eligible demonstrable costs such as rent/mortgage, utility, staffing salaries, inventory/supplies, and/or marketing/advertising. The grant cannot cover expenses already addressed through other financial assistance programs. Grants will be evenly distributed between all successful applicants.

SEDA-Council of Governments (SEDA-COG) and the Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce will evaluate the applications on Berwick Borough’s behalf.

For businesses to be eligible for funding assistance through this program, the recipient business must meet the following criteria:

1.     Submit a completed Berwick Borough Small Business Support Grant Program application to Tyler Dombroski, SEDA-COG; and

2.     Be a for-profit restaurant business in the municipal limits of the borough; and

3.     Be an incorporated business in and/or registered to conduct business in Pennsylvania; and

4.     Be negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic shutdowns; and

5.     Be able to meet one of the national objective requirements (primarily benefit to low-and moderate-income persons) of the CDBG-CV program.

Applications for the grant are available at https://columbiamontourchamber.com/. Questions and applications can be emailed to SEDA-COG’s Tyler Dombroski at tdombroski@seda-cog.org.

SEDA-COG’s Community Development program administers 14 CDBG contracts for 28 communities. Over 35 years, the program has secured $120 billion for over 1,000 projects with its 12 dedicated staff.

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.

Request for Proposal – Professional Engineering Services for Berwick Borough

Berwick Borough is requesting proposals for the purchase of professional Engineering services.  These services include all necessary design and specifications for the bidding of and contracting of bathroom upgrades at two community parks. Complete proposal details, including the required
proposal format, may be obtained by contacting:

Tyler Dombroski, Senior Program Analyst
SEDA-COG
201 Furnace Road
Lewisburg, PA 17837

Proposals will be accepted until 3:00 PM prevailing time, February 19, 2021, at which time they will be publicly opened at the Berwick City Hall. Proposals shall be on the forms required, sealed and clearly marked on the outside, “Engineering Services Proposal,” and submitted to:

Damien Scoblink, Borough Manager
Berwick Borough
1800 North Market Street
Berwick, PA 18603

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


Request for Quote – Professional Engineering and Architectural Services

Montour County ‘obo’ Derry Township is requesting quotations for the purchase of Professional Engineering Services. These services include all necessary design and specifications for the bidding and contracting of the demolition of structures located at 23 Mill Road, 29 Mill Road, and 75 Strawberry Ridge Road, Danville, PA. It is possible that one or more structures may not be acquired and demolished. The standard engineering estimate form must be completed by addressable structure. This project is to be funded utilizing the County’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program allocations. Required proposal format details may be obtained by contacting:

Geralee Zeigler, Program Analyst
SEDA-COG
201 Furnace Road
Lewisburg, PA 17837

Proposal details are also available at https://seda-cog.org/request-for-proposals/

Proposals will be accepted until 11 a.m. prevailing time, February 4, 2021, at which time they will be publicly opened at SEDA-Council of Governments, 201 Furnace Road, Lewisburg, PA. Proposals shall be on the forms required, sealed and clearly marked on the outside, “Demolition Engineering Services Proposal,” and submitted to:

Geralee Zeigler, Program Analyst
SEDA-COG
201 Furnace Road
Lewisburg, PA 17837

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


Statewide broadband expansion effort awarded $600K grant

Pennsylvania will see a coordinated statewide effort to expand highspeed internet access thanks to a $600,000 grant made possible by strong legislative support in the Pennsylvania state House and Senate. The grant bolsters SEDA-Council of Governments’ (SEDA-COG) broadband expansion project in the Snow Shoe Township area of Centre County.

Mike Fisher, SEDA-COG assistant executive director, thanked state Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman (R-34), state House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff (R-Centre/Mifflin), state Sen. Cris Dush (R-25), and state Rep. Stephanie Borowicz (R-Centre/Clinton) for their support in securing the grant.

“We are grateful to our legislators who recognize the crucial importance of expanding highspeed internet service to our communities and businesses, especially in these difficult times,” Fisher said. “Their efforts to secure this grant underscore a steadfast commitment to ensure that our region has access to essential broadband and technology resources now, not years from now ­­– we couldn’t do our work without their support.”

The Keystone Communities grant was awarded to the seven Local Development Districts (LDDs) that serve 52 Pennsylvania counties. The grant complements a previous $600,000 Appalachian Regional Commission POWER broadband grant supported by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) awarded to the LDDs to undertake broadband expansion throughout the state.

“We truly appreciate the partnership we have with our legislative champions and the team at DCED,” Fisher said.

The LDDs are multi-county organizations providing services such as community and economic development, transportation, international trade, strategic planning, and much more. Counties share information through their LDD, respond to common concerns, and develop solutions to today’s critical issues. For over 40 years, Pennsylvania’s LDDs have taken the lead in community and business initiatives, coordinating and delivering services on behalf of their member counties as well as the Commonwealth.

SEDA-COG is one of the seven LDDs and serves 11 central Pennsylvania counties.

The LDDs will coordinate to identify areas of Pennsylvania that need broadband and then expand coverage by either providing it or incentivizing internet service providers to expand service.

As a result, broadband will be expanded to a total of 410 businesses, 860 homes, and 13 communities throughout the LDDs’ statewide regions.

The LDDs that will identify areas that need broadband are Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance, Northern Tier Regional Planning and Development Commission, and Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission.

The following LDDs have identified underserved areas and will expand broadband service: North Central Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission, Northwest Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission, SEDA-Council of Governments (SEDA-COG), and Southern Alleghenies Planning & Development Commission.­

All projects are anticipated to be completed over the next 12 to 18 months.

Using $105,000 from the Keystone Communities grant and $105,000 from ARC POWER funds, SEDA-COG will establish a $210,000 grant program to incentivize internet service providers to provide broadband in the Snow Shoe area.

The project will provide 100/100 symmetrical internet speeds for at least five to 10 businesses and 50/10 for 50 to 100 households.

The infrastructure will be owned and operated by the internet service provider who is awarded the project through a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) process. SEDA-COG will release the RFP over the next several weeks.

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.