COUDERSPORT — Potter County Commissioners discussed the tourism merger, Main Street projects, and criminal justice initiatives at their regular meeting held Thursday in Coudersport.
Commissioner Doug Morley stated that the state has received the information concerning the Potter-Tioga county tourism merger, and officials have indicated that they believe it is a good program. However, there is no current mechanism in place to approve the move, so officials from the two counties plan to move forward with the merger, which is set to officially take place on July 1.
Morley stated that state officials are excited to have communities partnering together to create regional tourism promotion agencies, as has been discussed as a future move to save money and eliminate duplication.
Commissioner Paul Heimel announced the newest edition of Pennsylvania County News, released by the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, gives details on the newest criminal justice reforms and initiatives being undertaken by counties across the state. The edition is entitled “The Wrong People are in Jail,” and discusses a wide array of efforts to make the criminal justice system work for the individuals who come in contact with it, the taxpayers, and the community at large.
CCAP’s Behavioral Health/Criminal Justice Task Force recently created a report of reforms and initiatives that are recommended for adoption at the state levels, and in local government. The committee is working to get copies of the Pennsylvania County News edition into the hands of legislators and decision-makers in an effort to move at least some of their reforms forward.
A statewide panel will be presenting information soon to lawmakers, and Potter County’s Senior Judge John Leete and Drug and Alcohol Director Colleen Wilbur will speak to some of the reforms already undertaken in Potter County.
Commissioner Susan Kefover participated in a recent conference call with the Pennsylvania Downtown Center to discuss a report that shows the benefits of public spending on Main Street improvement projects. Case studies used were the City of Boston, Washington State, Oklahoma, and the Pennsylvania Main Street program, which administers 46 nationally-accredited local programs.
According to the report, investments in main streets drive business, revenue and employment growth, and make bigger gains in those areas than municipalities without improvements. The net fiscal gain for 2015-16 is estimated at $22,289,000, equating to $485,000 in annual fiscal gain per program for that year.
“Between 2015 and 2016, business growth attributable to the Pennsylvania Main Street Program generated state tax revenues of approximately $25.1 million. This fiscal impact far exceeds state spending on the program, which has averaged $2.8 million over the last two years,” the report indicates.
“Programs that seem to really organize communities and engage people have been really successful,” Kefover said.
Kefover is also working with Mansfield University officials to attract additional students to the campus. Efforts are being made to market the university as “a second-tier, world-class university,” and will try and attract international students through a number of programs, including a proposed student ambassador program with Mansfield University students.
In other business, an ordinance was approved, increasing the room tax on rental lodging to 5 percent from its previous 3 percent. The move was allowed by the state last year, and with the tourism merger looming, officials determined that it was appropriate to raise it to the same level as Tioga County, which raised theirs several months ago. The increase adds a small amount of money to the purchase of a room, equating to $1 or $2 per day, per room.
The next meeting of the Potter County Commissioners will be held at 11 a.m. June 8 at the Gunzburger Building in Coudersport.
