By Mary Sirianni

Special to The Ridgway Record

Executive Director Eric Bridges said the Pennsylvania state budget impasse impacts the funding of public programs throughout the state. He said that, through creativity and funding help from the group’s federal partners, the commission continues to provide its services in Cameron, Clearfield, Elk, Jefferson, McKean and Potter Counties without state money.
He said that he and the management team “monitors [the organization’s] spending every day” but without a budget “we’re throwing darts at a dartboard in the dark.”
He maintained that organization would continue to be strategic about its resources knowing that the future may change. 
During their department reports, others from the commission voiced similar concerns. They explained that they still provide the same services without state money but that the real challenge would come when a budget is passed and the commission finally receives its funding.
Last month the commission sent a letter to all members of Pennsylvania state legislators urging them to pass a budget.
   Legislators received the letters at their Harrisburg and district offices but only Rep. Sam Smith of the 66th district responded, saying that said that he supported a bi-partisan budget amendment “that would have adequately funded state programs” and ended the impasse.
   The amendment did not pass, he said, due to pressure from Gov. Ed Rendell.
Bridges said that the organization will continue to “ask and insist” that the state pass a budget, but “at the end of the day, we have to run our organization.”
In other business, the board approved for four projects: a road-widening in Lawrence Township in Clearfield County; obstruction removal from a runway at the Bradford Regional Airport and rehabilitation of taxiway lighting; request for a loan fund for small for-profit businesses in the commission’s six county area.
Concerns were raised about the fourth project, the construction of a new sewage treatment facility to replace a deteriorated system in Karthaus and Burnside Township in Clearfield County.
One board member explained that a new system would be too costly and that an alternative sewage system could be created at a lower cost. In response, the board voted to approve the project but voice its concerns to the Department of Environmental Protection.
The commission is one of several organizations that vote before the projects are approved.
Additionally, Larry Horning, director of operations for workforce development, 12 percent of youth from the summer youth work program were offered full-time employment for area municipalities and non-profit groups after they completed the program.
The commission also approved two loan requests applications.
Allegheny Store Fixtures Inc., of Bradford, which builds wooden display cases and commercial interiors, requested $100,000 from the small business fund. Richard Muccio Transportation, of Kersey, requested $31,500 for new school buses from the Intermediary Relending Program Fund.
They also voted to adopt an Open Records Policy. Human Resource Coordinator Barb Leitzel explained the policy allows public access to any of the commission’s measures regarding its budgets, workers’ compensation, benefit plans and any other program that utilizes federal or state taxpayer dollars.