Latest News from the Borough

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

The Borough offices will be closed on Monday, May 28, to observe Memorial Day. If your refuse is normally picked up on Mondays, it will be picked up on Wednesday, May 30. Please be sure to have it out after 6:00 p.m. Tuesday evening to ensure it is picked up on Wednesday, May 30. The refuse crew begins their day at 5:00 a.m. when there is change in the schedule due to a holiday, so they may be at your home at an earlier time than usual.

There will be no grass or brush pick up on Wednesday, May 30, due to the change in the refuse schedule. It will resume on June 6, 2018.

Have a happy and safe holiday!

Mike Young is asking for assistance in decorating the veterans’ graves for the various cemeteries in the area.

The following are the dates/times for each cemetery:

Saturday, May 19, 2018 (Rain Date is Sunday, May 20, 2018)

9:00 am          Meyer Cemetery (326)
10:30 am        Jewish Cemetery (4)
10:45 am        Catholic Cemetery (377)
12:15 pm         Hublersburg (127)
1:00 pm          Snydertown (32)

Monday, May 21, 2018 (Rain Date is Wednesday, May 23, 2018)

5:00 pm          Union Cemetery (915)

If you have any questions, please contact Mike Young at (814) 360-1184.

Please note this newsletter correction: The Big Spring Festival is being held May 12…not May 19.

The Borough-wide yard sale is May 18 and May 19, 2018. Riff Raff Week is May 21-25, 2018, on your regularly scheduled trash pickup day. For more information about these two events, please go to our calendar on this home page (left side below “online services”), below the calendar click on “Click to view full calendar”, and go to the month of May. When you click on the event, information about the event will show.

Bellefonte Municipal Parking Lot A, behind First National Bank along Howard Street, will be closed effective Monday, April 16, for approximately six weeks. You can use the municipal Lot D by the Waffle Shop, municipal Lot H by CVS, or on-street parking. We apologize for the inconvenience.

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.

To review materials from the Feb 22^nd Public Input Session, including the conceptual trail alignment, please follow this link:

http://centrecountypa.gov/index.aspx?nid=860