Greene commissioners present ‘2021 State of the County’ address
The Greene County commissioners recently released their “2021 State of the County” address that provides updates of various local government progress and initiatives, as well as the challenges that lie ahead for area officials and residents.
Commission Chairman Mike Belding said the commissioners and staff have remained focused on making Greene County a better place to live, learn, work and play.
“Significant progress has been made in several areas within county government, and we plan to keep that momentum going in 2022,” he said during an address that was released Dec. 28. “Most will recall that 2020 was a team-building year for us, marked by the departure of a significant number of staff members following the 2019 election and the majority of the year was ravaged by COVID-19.
“We adapted, adjusted and continued to serve Greene County residents and visitors during those uneasy times,” he continued. “Following the height of the COVID impacts, we have been able to return to normal county operations.”
Belding said the economic impact of COVID has yet to be fully recognized, but small businesses, restaurants and hospitality industry participants were significantly impacted.
“The Greene County Department of Planning and Community Development has presented significant opportunities toward financial stability and recovery to businesses affected by COVID,” he said. “Two financial support programs have been offered through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program and the County Block Grant – Hospitality Industry Recovery Program within the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED).”
A CDBG CARES grant of $1,277,083 funded the Forgivable Advance for Small Business Assistance program and the COVID-19 Hospitality Recovery Program (CHIRP) Grant Program distributed $600,000 to qualified Greene County businesses. In all, 39 local businesses were supported with COVID-related grants totaling more than $1.8 million.
“Our staff worked tirelessly to find, apply for and secure these funds. These are competitive grant programs, not Greene County tax dollars,” Belding said.
Just as businesses were affected, families also experienced stressed finances. To this end, Belding said the county’s Department of Planning and Community Development administered a $500,000 HOME Investment Partnership Program to qualified applicants and has applied for a $1,054,199 grant from the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement Fund.
“Both programs provide no interest, deferred payment loans to assist with roof issues, safety and health issues, updates to major systems such as furnaces, outdated electric or plumbing systems, and other repairs to preserve, improve and stabilize the current housing stock in Greene County,” he said. “Assuming compliance of the homeowner, this loan is forgivable after five years. This is for owner occupied homes only.”
Belding said additional support to county residents is available through the Emergency Rental Assistance Program.
“The county’s allocation of $2,383,055.41 has supported 263 families and/or individuals thus far and Greene County Human Services continues to accept and process applications on a daily basis,” he said.
Belding said Greene County also leads the commonwealth in rural broadband deployment with more than $8 million in completed or awarded investments and additional grant requests pending approval.
“Building on the successes we experienced with a more than $3 million investment in broadband infrastructure during 2020, Greene County was awarded an Appalachian Regional Commission’s (ARC) Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative in September 2021,” he said.
“This highly competitive grant provides $2.5 million for broadband investment and Kinetic by Windstream is the industry partner contributing an additional $2.7 million in capital investment to the project bringing the total project value to over $5 million.”
This project will provide gigabit speed broadband access to nearly 1,000 currently underserved or unserved houses in the Graysville, New Freeport and Spraggs exchanges. These exchanges cover geographic areas larger than traditionally considered in the defined area of these towns and include all or portions of six townships: Aleppo, Freeport, Gilmore, Perry, Springhill and Wayne.
Another initiative the commissioners address in the release is the Wisecarver Reservoir and Recreation Area project, which combines currently funded softball fields, a kayak launch and walking trails with future developments to create a year-round destination.
Belding said permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection were obtained in 2020 and the first phase started in 2021. The first phase consists of a softball field, parking lot, concession stand, walking trail and a kayak/canoe launch site. Grant funding was received in 2021 for the kayak/canoe launch site which is currently under design and environmental review.
“The influx of federal money available has potential to greatly speed up the anticipated completion of this project,” he said. “Greene County is applying for a $3 million grant through Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant process. The project will assist Greene in diversifying activities available to draw visitors and improve the quality of life for the region.”
From 2014 through 2020, revenue of the Greene County budget has been increasingly padded with non-traditional, particularly ACT 13 funding, Belding said.
The board believes the current expense to revenue ratio is “unsustainable,” Belding said.
“We have cut more than $2 million in annual expenses in the county budget, but there has been no increase in traditional revenue,” he said. “The next two years, 2022 and 2023, will be salvaged by the influx of federal funding like the American Rescue Plan, but going forward we need substantial increases in the tax base with increased businesses, industry and residential housing activities.”
Belding said the county has experienced positive developments in diversifying workforce requirements and industrial business opportunities, a significant investment in broadband deployment and increased community involvement in defining, analyzing and working toward solutions in cooperative efforts to mitigate some community concerns.
“We have momentum in the right direction; however, we must remain focused toward smartly investing our precious resources, growing opportunities to increase tax revenue for future budget cycles and continue fiscally responsible decision making,” he said. “It is imperative that we continue to work with other government entities, school districts, and develop public/private partnerships in order to bring businesses, diversified industry and increased residential housing activity into Greene County.”