Latest News from the Borough

CENTRE COUNTY’s intended use of Ffy 2018 CDBG Funds
BELLEFONTE BOROUGH’s intended use of Ffy 2018 CDBG funds

Centre County and Bellefonte Borough will hold a joint Final Public Hearing on Wednesday, September 26, 2018 at 6:00 p.\m inRoom 146 of the Willowbank Bldg,  420 Holmes St, Bellefonte, to receive comment on the County’s intention to apply to the PA Dept of Community & Economic Development for approximately $441,976 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for the Ffy 2018 Program. Under Act 179 of 1984, Bellefonte Borough as an Entitlement Municipality will receive $109,514 of teh 2018 CDBG Grant.

Proposed project activities must meet one of three national objectives: benefit low- and moderate-income persons; prevention or elimination of slums or blight; alleviation of immediate threats to the health and safety of the community. The First Public Hearing was held June 27, 2018. Copies of the minutes, agenda and comments from that Hearing may be obtained at the Centre County Planning & Community Development Office, 420 Holmes St, Bellefonte, PA 16823.

Projects under consideration by Centre County to receive FFY2018 CDBG Funds are: Construction of a new potableWater Storage Tank in the Borough of Unionville. ($272,552). Approximately $59, 910 will be set-aside by the County for Grant Administration.

Projects under consideration by Bellefonte Borough to receive FFY 2018 CDBG Funds: Ongoing Safety Improvements at Talleyrand Park ($89, 804). Approximately $19,710 will be set-aside by the Borough for Grant Administration.

Those requiring special accommodations should call 814-355-6791; forty-eight (48) hours in advance. It is expected that the Centre County Board of Commissioners will take final action on the Ffy 2018 CDBG application at the Board’s meeting at 10:00 am on Tuesday, October 23, 2018. Bellefonte Borough Council will take final action at their Council Meeting at 7:30 pm on Monday, October 15, 2018.

Robert Jacobs, Director
Planning & Community Development Office

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 28, 2019

Contact: Centre County Commissioners Office 814-355-6700

On September 20, 2018 at 6:30 p.m., the Centre County Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education (HOPE) Initiative will hold a Remembrance Ceremony to honor loved ones lost to an overdose.  The event will take place on the steps of the Centre County Courthouse, located at 102 South Allegheny Street, Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, 16823.  In case of rain, the Remembrance Ceremony will be held on the same date and time, but in the Centre County Courthouse Annex on the 3^rd Floor at 106 East High Street, Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, 16823.

This event will be held in conjunction with the Purple Ribbon Project which is also being sponsored by the Centre County HOPE Initiative.  In observation of International Overdose Awareness Day, August 31^st, and September’s National Recovery Month, purple ribbons will be hung throughout Centre County to bring awareness to the important issue of substance use disorders, recovery and to remember the community members lost to an overdose.  As well during the month of September, the Centre County Courthouse will be lit purple as well as the bridge at Talleyrand Park in Bellefonte.

From 2014 to June 2018, there have been 80 drug related overdose deaths in Centre County.  In 2016 alone, Pennsylvania saw 4,642 drug-related overdoses, a 37% increase from 2015.

If anyone is struggling with or has a family member struggling with substance use, we encourage them to reach out to the Centre County Drug and Alcohol Office at 814-355-6786.

For questions about the Remembrance Ceremony, please contact the Centre County HOPE Initiative at [email protected].

For press only:  due to the nature of this event, if you attend, please do not take any photographs without prior approval.  Thank you!

Construction similar to that of Lot A (behind the YMCA) will begin on Lot H on September 10 and should be completed by October 26, weather permitting. Those who have purchased monthly permits for Lot H are allowed to park in either Lot A or Lot D (behind the Waffle Shop) during this time.  Be sure to place your permit on the passenger side of the dashboard.

The public hearing scheduled for Monday, August 20, regarding the following:

Re-zone R-4 High Density Residential District covering Centre Crest and adjacent properties to R-2 Town Residential (Infill).  Parcels to be re-zoned are: 32-103-,023-,0000-; 32-103-,200-,0000-; 32-103-,103-,0000-; 32-103-,102-,0000-; 32-103-,060A,0000-; 32-103-,061-,0000-; 32-103-,060-,0000-; 32-103-,084-,0000-; 32-103-,085-,0000-.

is being continued until a date to be determined.

For more information regarding the upcoming public hearing regarding re-zoning, click here.

Comcast has undergone a significant transformation over the past several years to improve their customer experience. Click here to review some examples of the recent changes.

Winner Other Category

COMBINED PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE
AND REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR THE 2018 CDBG FUNDS

Centre County CDBG Program  –  Bellefonte Borough CDBG Program

Wednesday, June 27, 2018   –   6:00 p.m. –    Willowbank Building, Bellefonte

Notice is hereby given by Centre County Government and Bellefonte Borough that they will hold a Combined Public Hearing on June 27, 2018 at 6:00 p.m. in Room 146 of the Willowbank Office Building, 420 Holmes Street, Bellefonte PA.  This meeting is accessible to individuals with disabilities and/or for persons with Limited English Proficiency. If you wish to attend and require special accommodations, please notify the Centre County Planning & Community Development Office, 72 hours in advance at 355-6791 or email – [email protected].

The purpose of the Public Hearing is to discuss, in general, the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) programs of both Centre County and Bellefonte Borough, the current and future needs of both the County and the Borough’s Low/Moderate Income Residents, performance under the previously funded CDBG Program years, and to discuss the required Three – Year Community Development Plans of both organizations.

Centre County is expected to receive an allocation of $310,000, of Ffy 2018 CDBG funds from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Bellefonte Borough anticipates the receipt of $120,000.  At least 70% of the available funding must be used for activities which benefit low and moderate income persons both throughout Centre County and in the Borough.  It is anticipated that the combined application submission deadline will be in September of this year.

The following types of activities may be eligible for funding under the CDBG Program: water and sewer line replacement and improvements; housing rehabilitation; construction of affordable housing; construction/reconstruction of public/community facilities; recreational facilities; public services that are new or provide quantifiable increases in the delivery of services; street improvements; historic preservation; removal of architectural barriers; code enforcement; economic development; acquisition and relocation; clearance and demolition; and general administration, planning, audit if required, and preparation of the CDBG application.

If Centre County or Bellefonte Borough would undertake activities that result in the displacement of families or individuals, then Centre County’s policy for minimizing such displacement would be in effect.  All interested citizens are encouraged to attend and will be offered the opportunity to give oral testimony at the Public Hearing and/or to present written comments concerning the needs of the Community, proposed CDBG Program activities, the prior use of CDBG funds, as well as the CDBG Program in general.  Written proposals and comments may be submitted to the Centre County Planning and Community Development Office, 420 Holmes St, Bellefonte PA, or email: [email protected] by August 1^st, 2018.

Robert Jacobs, Director
Centre County Planning & Community Development Office

Because the leaves were so late to fall from the trees last year, the Borough will be doing a spring leaf collection. The leaf collection truck will go around for one week, beginning April 9. They will follow the normal refuse pickup schedule.

Who is the Centre Area Cable Consortium?

The Centre Area Cable Consortium (CACC) was organized in 2004 with the purpose of negotiating a regional cable franchise. It includes the following municipalities – the Boroughs of Bellefonte and State College and the Townships of Benner, College, Ferguson, Halfmoon, Harris and Patton. The CACC Board is comprised of one elected official from each of the eight member municipalities. The costs for negotiating the cable franchise are split among the eight members by the percentage of Comcast subscribers in each municipality.

When was the last franchise adopted?

The last franchise was adopted in 2008. It was the first franchise with Comcast, who purchased the cable system from Adelphia after that company declared bankruptcy.

Why isn’t there competition in the area?

Comcast holds a franchise in all eight municipalities. Windstream holds a cable franchise in State College Borough and College and Ferguson Townships.

We are not opposed to having other cable companies serve our area. They would have to negotiate a franchise, similar to what both Comcast and Windstream have done. To date, we have not received interest from any other providers.

What items can be negotiated?

Under federal law, we are allowed to negotiate customer service standards, density and build out requirements, technical requirements for the cable system, use of our rights of way and provisions for public, educational and governmental access channels. We are not permitted to negotiate pricing structures. We are also not allowed to negotiate internet or phone service.

What are Public, Educational and Governmental Access Channels?

We are allowed under federal law to have access channels. C-Net is our educational (channel 98) and our governmental (channel 7) access channels. We have language in our franchise that provides for technical provisions for C-Net. C-Net also received a capital grant from Comcast the last time the franchise was negotiated.

We currently do not have a public access channel, though there is language the permits the addition of a third public, educational or governmental access channel when a programming threshold is met. There was interest in public access in 2008, but that interest has largely waned over the last 10 years.

Who oversees Comcast’s performance?

The CACC does have a provision that allows for a bi-annual review of the cable franchise in its current agreement. The last bi-annual review was completed in 2011. We did not identify any deficiencies with Comcast or its performance under the franchise.

What is the timeline for negotiations?

The CACC is in the beginning of the franchise negotiation process. Comments from the public hearing will be gathered and considered as we begin the process. We hope to have a new franchise in place by mid summer.

Can I submit additional comments after the hearing?

Written comments can be submitted by email to [email protected] or mailed to Amy Farkas, Harris Township, 224 East Main Street, Boalsburg, PA 16827, until March 12^th.