Andy Close
PLEASANT TWP, Pa. – The Warren County Commissioners held their second in a series of town hall meetings on Thursday at the Pleasant Township building.
The town halls present an opportunity for the commissioners to talk to the public, answer questions and address concerns.
During Thursday’s gathering, Commissioners Ben Kafferlin and Jeff Eggleston laid out some of the things they are working on, as well as what fellow Commissioner Tricia Durbin is hard at work with.
Among those issues included broadband internet, redevelopment and the new county website.
“We’re not putting all of our eggs in one basket,” Kafferlin said regarding Durbin’s work with broadband infrastructure in the county. “The American Rescue Funds, we’re getting about $7 million with a significant portion likely to go towards broadband.
“The same thing with federal money. Federal money has more restrictions, but with us, we’re looking at a multi-phase approach with different partners.”
Added Eggleston: “Overall, fiber is going to be the focus for everybody. Generally speaking, it isn’t going to be the solution in every situation. All of this is heavily regulated by the fed and the state, and so that is one of the biggest obstacles, trying to navigate all of those regulations. And $7 million is a lot of money, but when you’re talking about trying to roll out broadband to a county the size of ours, it definitely would make a dent, but it’s a significant challenge.”
Kafferlin, meanwhile, laid out his work on updating the policies and procedures.
“That includes the employee handbook, but also policies and procedures related to how elections run and stuff,” Kafferlin said. “We have a lot of institutional knowledge in the courthouse, sometimes on paper, sometimes in people’s heads and we’re trying to get a uniform system with appropriate approval processes as well continuous improvement built into the system. So far it’s been a lot of work, but we’re making headway.”
Eggleston highlighted his work with the Redevelopment Authority to figure out funding mechanisms to address blighted property.
Eggleston also addressed developing the area around Kinzua Dam on Route 59.
“There’s so much stuff you could do with tourism and promotion,” Eggleston said. “Really focusing on Kinzua Beach, Kinzua Wolf Run Marina, Jake’s Rock’s, the Kinzua Point Information Center and that area along Route 59. “Working with the planning department as part of a recreational plan which we’re starting right now for the county and kind of working on that, working with the Allegheny National Forest and the Army Corps of Engineers to get that whole area redeveloped.
“There’s a lot of different layers to that process and there will be a lot more. It’s a huge undertaking. It’s part of this larger county comprehensive plan, which hasn’t been redone since 2005. That involves everything, all the projects we’re going to work on going forward are really going to be built out of that. With that, my focus has really been on marketing development.”
One other item the commissioners touched on was an upgrade to the county’s website.
“As part of last year’s CARES act allocation, we talked about the fact that we needed to upgrade the website,” Eggleston said. “We spent the past three months working on the website and we’re going to launch it on August 23. It’s going to have new features that are going to have more engagement with citizens. There’s a lot of engagement pieces on it so they can interact and ask questions.
“And then there’s the ability for the emergency management group to take over the website and post alert messages. Pam (Matve) has taken the lead on it and done a really wonderful job. She’s going to be training all of the staff.”
The next town hall is slated for Aug. 19 at Conewango Township.
