2020 Program Plan

The Centre Region Council of Governments 2020 PROGRAM PLAN WHITEHALL ROAD REGIONAL PARK | PHASE 1 CENTRE REGION COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS 2020 PROGRAM PLAN TABLE OF CONTENTS 2019 GENERAL FORUM MEMBERS 5 SCHLOW CENTRE REGION LIBRARY 133 COG AGENCY CONTACT LIST 6 SCHLOW CENTRE REGION LIBRARY CAPITAL 141 CENTRE REGION COG SERVICE AREA 7 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S LETTER 8 CENTRE REGIONAL PLANNING AGENCY 147 OVERVIEW OF THE COG 33 CENTRE COUNTY METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION 155 OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATION 37 REGIONAL FIRE PROTECTION PROGRAM 169 REGIONAL REFUSE AND RECYCLING PROGRAM 53 FIRE PROTECTION CAPITAL 181 COG CONTINGENCY FUND 69 COG BUILDING CAPITAL 73 PARKS AND RECREATION (CRPR) OPERATING 187 INSURANCE RESERVE FUND 77 CRPR CAPITAL EQUIPMENT 207 UNEMPLOYMENT FUND 81 CRPR AQUATICS PROGRAM 213 CRPR AQUATICS CAPITAL 219 OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT 83 CRPR ACTIVE ADULT CENTER 227 EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT CONTINGENCY FUND 93 CRPR MILLBROOK MARSH NATURE CENTER 239 CRPR MILLBROOK MARSH NATURE CENTER CAPITAL 251 CODE ADMINISTRATION OVERALL AGENCY 95 CRPR REGIONAL PARKS CAPITAL 259 CODE NEW CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM 111 CODE EXISTING STRUCTURES PROGRAM 119 CODE CAPITAL 127 GENERAL FORUM MEMBERS 2019 CHAIR: Steve Miller, Ferguson Township VICE-CHAIR: George Downsbrough, Jr., Patton Township COLLEGE TOWNSHIP COUNCIL FERGUSON TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS HALFMOON TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS Steve Lyncha, Chair Steve Miller, Chair Danelle Del Corso, Chair L. Eric Bernier Laura Dininni Patti Hartle Anthony Fragola Richard Killian Barbara Spencer D. Richard Francke Lisa Strickland Mark Stevenson Carla Stilson Ford Stryker Bob Strouse HARRIS TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS PATTON TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS STATE COLLEGE BOROUGH COUNCIL Charles “Bud” Graham, Chair George Downsbrough, Jr., Chair Evan Myers, President Dennis Hameister Elliot Abrams Jesse Barlow Frank Harden Jessica Buckland David Brown Bruce Lord Dan Treviño Cathy Dauler Nigel Wilson Betsy Whitman Janet Engeman Theresa Lafer Dan Murphy Mayor: Don Hahn THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY STATE COLLEGE AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT Charima Young Gretchen Brandt 5 CENTRE REGION COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS Agency Contact List 2643 Gateway Drive State College, PA 16801-3885 Website: www.crcog.net ADMINISTRATION – 231-3077 PARKS & RECREATION – 231-3071 Jim Steff, Executive Director Pam Salokangas, Director [email protected] [email protected] Scott Binkley, Office Manager Jada Light, Office Manager [email protected] [email protected] Rebecca Petitt, Human Resources Officer [email protected] PLANNING – 231-3050 Joe Viglione, Finance Director Jim May, Director [email protected] [email protected] Tom Zilla, Principal Transportation Planner CODE ADMINISTRATION – 231-3056 [email protected] Walt Schneider, Director Marcella Bell, Office Manager [email protected] [email protected] Tammy Strouse, Office Manager [email protected] REFUSE & RECYCLING PROGRAM – 234-7198 Darlene Chivers, Acting Administrator EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT – 235-7838 [email protected] Shawn Kauffman, Emergency Management Coordinator [email protected] SCHLOW LIBRARY – 235-7814 (211 S. Allen St.) Carolyn Irvin, Office Manager Cathi Alloway, Director [email protected] [email protected] DJ Lilly, Office Manager FIRE PROTECTION – 237-4127 (400 W. Beaver Ave.) [email protected] Steve Bair, Director [email protected] Carolyn Irvin, Office Manager [email protected] 6 7 Executive Director’s Letter 2020 Program Plan Overview 1969 COG Articles of Agreement “By joining together, we realized that our individual and common governmental destinies rest with the interdependent actions of the local governments. This voluntary association which we have formed is designed to achieve closer cooperation since it represents an organization in which the members seek by, mutual agreement, to solve mutual problems for mutual benefit, and is not a new layer of government nor a super-government.” July 17, 2019 Dear Members of the General Forum, The Agency Directors and I are pleased to present the Centre Region Council of Governments (COG) 2020 Program Plan to the General Forum for its review, comment, and referral to the six Centre Region municipalities. The COG Human Resources Committee discussed personnel changes and compensation policies during its May 1, 2019 meeting. Program Plan proposals for the Codes, Fire, and Emergency Management Agencies were reviewed by the COG Public Safety Committee during its June 11, 2019 meeting. In addition, the Library Board reviewed the two library sections of the Program Plan. The Finance Committee considered the entire Program Plan during its July 11, 2019 meeting. The committee’s comments are incorporated into this document. The idea for a Program Plan was suggested by the Finance Committee in 2001. The document is intended to provide the General Forum with an explanation of each regional program’s history, services, current issues, mid-year financial status, and proposed programmatic and financial changes for 2020. By making this information available to the municipalities early in the budget process, elected officials can be both engaged in and knowledgeable about the COG. The presentation of the Program Plan in July of each year gives municipal officials additional time to consider the proposals, ask questions, and offer comments or suggest alternatives. Why COG… The COG was created to lower the costs of government-provided services by eliminating or reducing duplication and achieving economics of scale. Most Pennsylvania communities fund separate and distinct fire agencies, code departments, emergency management coordinators, park and recreations programs, and have individualized comprehensive plans for guiding future land development. If one 2020 Program Plan – Executive Director’s Letter 8 considers the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a whole, duplicating these services directly increases the cost of government for the taxpayer, is confusing to the residents, and may lessen the quality of those services. In addition, many of the major problems confronting local governments are truly regional in nature. Land use planning, protection of the natural environment, and emergency preparedness planning typically span across municipal boundaries and can only be meaningfully addressed at the regional level. For other regional programs - fire protection, parks and recreation, refuse/recycling collection, and library services - because expenses are shared among multiple municipalities, the COG is typically able to provide the service at a lower per resident cost than many other communities. A key challenge for Pennsylvania’s 2,651 municipal government is how to effectively and efficiently combine local self-government with the cooperative partnerships that are capable of meeting residents’ service delivery expectations and their pocketbooks. By sharing services and coordinating planning efforts, municipalities that cooperate with neighboring communities can give residents more bang for their buck. Some of the notable accomplishments achieved by the Centre Region COG since the beginning of the year include: • As of June 14, 2019, the Regional Fire Protection Program responded to 487 incidents compared to 609 calls at this same point in 2018. • The Centre Region Code Administration (CRCA) as of May 31, 2019, reviewed plans and performed building inspection on $205 million in new construction projects compared to $114 million in 2018 which was the highest annual level on record. • Working with a consulting team, the Steering Committee has made significant progress in drafting sections of the Parks and Recreation Regional Comprehensive Plan. Work accomplished to date includes; conducting an electronic and randomized mail survey to identify the residents’ attitudes, holding a well-attended public meeting, community-wide survey, conducting site assessments of every facility maintained by the Parks Agency and benchmarking the costs and performance of the Agency with other similar organizations. • Significant progress was made on the planning for Whitehall Road Regional Park. A land development plan was submitted to Ferguson Township and should be approved later in the year. • After 35 years of service, the Executive Director announced his intent to retire on April 3, 2020. The General Forum asked the Executive Committee to organize a job search and a Recruitment and Screening Committee has been appointed. The members are: Adam Brumbaugh, Jessica Buckland, Tom Fountaine, Dave Pribulka, Bob Strouse, and Nigel Wilson. The Committee was authorized to hire a consultant to coordinate the process as it deems necessary. 2020 Program Plan – Executive Director’s Letter 9 • The Human Resources Committee drafted policies for providing public comments at General Forum meetings and for meeting etiquette. Both proposals were approved by the General Forum. • The General Forum established a Working Group to work with a consultant to identify and propose a future organizational model for the Regional Fire Protection Program. Thus far, the Committee has met twice and have prepared a draft scope of work for the project. The members are: 1. State College Borough Dan Murphy 2. College Township Anthony Fragola College Township (Alternate) Rich Francke College Township (Alternate) Carla Stilson 3. Ferguson Township Laura Dininni 4. Halfmoon Township Mark Stevenson Halfmoon Township (Alternate) Bob Strouse 5. Harris Township Bud Graham 6. Patton Township Dan Treviño 7. Penn State University Charles Noffsinger 8.

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