Strategy Description:

The strategy suggests that the region target areas for investments in infrastructure. The Centre County Planning Office and Centre Regional Planning Agency should work with townships and boroughs to identify areas that can accommodate growth, and through investments in infrastructure, create incentives for growth to occur in those areas. The strategy should recognize at least two sets of needs (rural and urban) and that there would need to be tiers of recognition to fit both rural and urban areas.

The goal of the strategy is to create a unified and prioritized list so that all authorities, Municipalities, and planning units are working together to accomplish a common goal or are not working at cross purposes.

Key Components:

This is a two-part effort: 1) identification of authority and 2) identification of areas. Most infrastructure currently comes under some authority which develops its own plans and works within its own boundaries. Key areas and partnerships will require dialogue and cooperation between the county, Centre Region Council of Governments and boroughs and townships (see Strategy 1: Growth Area and Resource Area Delineation), as well as the various authorities. This effort should be tied to a countywide Community Development Strategy and the State College Borough Community Development Strategy as well as infrastructure planning activities at the local or multi-municipal level (e.g. Act 537 wastewater planning). Once identified, these partners and locations would help assure efficient and rational targeting of capital investments in infrastructure.

The steps necessary to implement this program are:

• Develop a Regional Community Development Plan in cooperation with the Centre County Planning Office, the Centre Regional Planning Agency, and the State College Borough and Bellefonte Borough Planning Departments. The regional component would fit into the three-year Community Development Plan for the Community Development Block Grant Program for the county and State College Borough. Other funding sources including highway funds and DCED funds, should also be used as appropriate.

• Focus the Regional Community Development Plan on infrastructure investments to designated growth areas or areas of immediate need. The plan should define targeted economic development areas and include a statement of need and plan recommendations.

• Develop an appropriate rating and ranking system to advance projects for the region.

• Designate and prioritize projects for funding.

• Target county and entitlement communities’ Community Development Block Grants and other funding sources for funding the projects identified in the community development plan.

• Allocate matching funds from other sources to enhance the funding for targeted projects.

• Create a private sector advocacy task force/committee.

Develop a group (possibly use the CEO Roundtable) of high level industry, university and community leaders with purpose of educating them on the importance of infrastructure and creating a public-private partnership to prioritize and endorse a list of infrastructure needs. This group could also promote the list and affect the projects through statewide and high level advocacy.
 
• Utilize state programs to complement infrastucture identification and prioritization.

Complement local site selection criteria with assistance from DCED. Use the site selection web-based evaluation process to come online in 2002.

The program would be applicable throughout the region.

Implementation:

The county works with the municipalities and infrastructure authorities of the area to develop the community development plan and recommendations. The county might also facilitate the private sector component (roundtable).

Indicators:

• Business investment in the targeted areas
• Number of projects funded and the funding sources
• Increased revenue resulting from new development
• Projects which follow the prioritized, targeted list

Funding may include the county and entitlement CDBG programs, PENNVEST, etc. The amount of funding will be dependent on the needs of the community and the amount of economic growth anticipated.