Moving over!

Hi everyone,

The LVMS blog is moving! One of the things we started noticing is that many of the stories we would post here (on urban revitalization, business trends, etc) also fit on the Chamber blog. Thus, in an effort to combine forces and readership, as well as give our readers more content, we are combining the Lehigh Valley Main Street blog with The Chamber's blog.

The new URL is http://lehighvalleychamber.blogspot.com. You will still be able to find the same great content and more.

See you over there!

Comprehensive Plans

What, exactly, is a comprehensive plan?

This is a question that comes up quite a bit. I'm a big believer in the importance of planning. Without proper planning, a community will have absolutely no common vision or course of action. simple put, a municipal plan gives a community an idea of what they want to be and how they are going to get there. It is a long-range document that is meant to guide a community for many years.

Plans are crafted over a long period of time, often a year or more. The most critical component of any comprehensive plan is that they have appropriate community feedback. Public outreach is critical; otherwise, a plan will not be reflective of a community's will, and thus bound for failure.

These plans are expensive, depending on the size of the community and the scope of the plan, they can often run into six figures. Fortunately, an ample amount of state and local grant sources are available to help municipalities deal with the costs of these plans. Larger cities, like Allentown and Bethlehem, also have their own planning department that helps to create these plans. For example, Allentown's comp plan is on the internet.

Smaller communities often band together to form a regional comprehensive plan. For example, Alburtis, Emmaus, Lower Macungie, Lower Milford, Macungie and Upper Milford banded together in 2004 to form the Southwestern Lehigh Comprehensive Plan. Hellertown, Lower Saucon and the Saucon Valley School Board have formed the Saucon Valley Partnership and are looking to have their comprehensive plan approved in the next few months.

Mainstreet Grants

The Borough Business Revitalization Program (BBRP), in conjunction with the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Lehigh County and Northampton County, is pleased to announce the funding they have acquired over the past three years. As can be seen from the table, the BBRP has helped acquire over $692,000 for their various initiatives dealing with urban revitalization. The total cost of these various initiatives is expected to cost over $2 million dollars. This number is reflective of the strength of the various projects that the BBRP is working on in each community. It also reflects the high level of confidence that the various participating private and public agencies have placed in the BBRP.


BBRP Wide:
- Keep PA beautiful, think green grant- Five communities provided with 22 trash receptacals.
Total award: $10,000 (out of project cost $10,000)
- Keep PA Beautiful- Twelve Benches
Total award: $4,500 (out of project cost $4,500)

Alburtis:
- Lehigh County Main Street Planning Grant- Streetscape Planning Grant for Alburtis Streetscape plan
Total award: $11,212 (out of project cost $16,212)
- PA DCED Community Revitalization Grant (Senator Pat Brown)- Implementation of Streetscape Plan for Alburtis
Total award: $10,000 (out of project cost $800,000)

Bangor:
- PA DCED Downtown Reinvestment Grant- Downtown Sidewalks and Street Lighting
Total award: $488,000 (out of project cost $976,000)
- State Farm Good Neighbors Grant- Façade Program
Total award: $5,000 (out of project cost $18,500)
- PA DCED Community Revitalization Grant (Senator Lisa Boscola), Northampton County Streetscape Amenities Grant- Improvements of pocket park
Total award: $10,000, $5,000 respectively (out of project cost $15,000)
- Northampton County Economic Development Planning Fund, GLVCC Foundation Special Opportunities Grant- Professionally developed Vision & Action Plan
Total award: $8,506, $3,000 respectively (out of project cost $11,506)

Bath:
-GLVCC Foundation Special Opportunities Grant, Northampton County Streetscape Amenities Grant- Funding of new gateway signage
Total award: $2,000, $5,000 respectively (out of project cost $10,000)
-Northampton County Economic Development Planning Grant- Professionally developed Vision & Action plan
Total award: $7,500 (out of possible $11,506)

Catasauqua:
- Lehigh County Housing Authority, Lehigh County Main Street Amenities Grant, GLVCC Foundation Special Opportunities Grant- Streetscape & Borough Hall beautification
Total award: $4,500, $8,000, $1,000 respectively (out of possible $20,000)
- Lehigh County Main Street Planning Grant- Downtown Master Plan
Total award: $24,000 (out of project cost $32,000)

Coopersburg:
- PA DCED Community Revitalization Grant (Representative Lisa Boscola)- Façade Program
Total award: $5,000 (out of project cost $13,500)
- GLVCC Foundation Special Opportunities Grant, Lehigh County Main Street Planning Grant, Lehigh County CDBG, PA DCED LUPTAP- Grant to fund Comprehensive Plan
Total award: $2,000 (downtown), $5,086.00, $7,914.00, $15,000 respectively (out of project cost $30,000)

Hellertown:
- PA DCED Community Revitalization Grant (Senator Lisa Boscola)- Façade Program
Total award: $5,000 (out of project cost $13,500)
- Lutron Foundation- Streetscape Planning
Total award: $2,500 (out of project cost $20,000)
- GLVCC Foundation Special Opportunities Grant- Parking Study
Total award: $2,000 (out of project cost $4,000)
- PA DCED Community Revitalization Grant (Representative Bob Freeman)- Streetscape Amenities project
Total award: $5,000 (out of project cost $7,500)

Macungie:
-Lehigh County Main Street Planning Grant- Streetscape Planning Grant for Macungie Streetscape plan
Total award: $24,000 (out of project cost $32,000)
- GLVCC Foundation Special Opportunities Grant- Historical lighting in downtown
Total award: $2,000 (out of project cost $17,000)
- PA DCED Community Revitalization Grant (Representative Doug Reichley), Lehigh County Main Street Planning Grant- Downtown Master Plan
Total award: $5,000, $7,500 respectively (out of project cost $30,000)
- Lehigh County Main Street Streetscape Amenities Fund- Historic lighting
Total award: $8,000 (out of project cost $16,000)

N. Catasauqua:
Northampton County Streetscape Amenities Fund, GLVCC Foundation Special Opportunities Grant- Sidewalk and lighting project for park
Total award: $5,000, $1,000 respectively (out of project cost $20,000)

Wilson:
Northampton County Economic Development Planning Grant- Professionally Developed Economic Revitalization Strategy
Total award : $19,000 (out of project cost $30,000)

TOTAL:
$692,218 in funding for $2,272,724 of project costs

Lehigh Valley Crime Map

Hi everyone,

The Morning Call has a relatively new feature that I wanted to share. It is their Lehigh Valley Crime Map. The map lists where crimes were reported and also has a link to a Morning Call story on that crime, if applicable.

This is one of the many ways that technology can be used to keep local residents better informed of the happenings in their local municipality. In the long-run, wouldn't it be great if local governments could utilize their intern websites to have more than just contact information? Things like forms, a calendar of events, information about criminal activity, garbage pick-up, ability to pay taxes online, etc.

Governments in the 21st century have to stop limiting themselves to 20th century methods of government. A great example of this is Macungie's website. The website contains a large variety of information, including permits & zoning forms, a business directory, calendar of events and information on parks and recreation, among other things. It even has a link to their comprehensive plan!

The internet has proven massively effective in increasing democracy by opening up government and making it more accessible to the masses. I would love to see more governments have website's like Macungie's. I am also very curious to see how governments can take advantage of social networking in the future.

Legislative Alert

This message comes from Geoff Brace with the Pennsylvania Downtown Center, regarding the Governor's proposed budget and how it will affect the Main and Elm Street programs:

Legislative Alert
Governor’s Proposed Budget
What it means for Main Street and Elm Street and What YOU can do today!

On February 4, 2009, Governor Rendell released his budget proposal for FY 2009-2010. There was a build up in anticipation over this budget after several cuts were made to the FY 2008-2009 budget in December of 2008. Amongst the cuts in the mid-year review of the 2008-2009 budget were freezes in New Communities’ spending and a total cut of approximately $2.3 million (13.29% cut). This dropped the line item for New Communities from $18 million to $15.4 million for the FY 2008-2009 budget.

The FY 2009-2010 budget includes additional spending cuts, though not as drastic as had been feared. This budget projects $15 million in spending for FY 2009-2010, a cut of approximately $400,000 over the revised projections from FY 2008-2009. In total, from FY 2007-2008, this represents a total of $3 million in cuts to the New Communities budget, a total of 15% cut. It should be worth noting that several other community development line items, including the Community Revitalization Program, Urban Development Program, Community and Business Assistance Program, Community and Municipal Facilities Program, Local Government Resources and Development Program and Regional Development Initiative Program were all cut completely, representing a total elimination of $101 million. The Community Action Team, Community Conservation and Employment, Economic Advancement and Community and Regional Development budgets were also significantly reduced. In other words, Community Development, as a whole in this budget, has taken significant cuts in budgeted spending for 2009-2010.

PDC is already making arrangements to provide budget testimony in attempts to either restore funding to the 2008-2009 budget projections or at a minimum ensure that the cuts to funding do not exceed the Governor’s proposal. While other programs throughout the budget were eliminated completely, PDC staff is comfortable in saying that the Governor continues to show his commitment to Pennsylvania’s Core Communities when he reduced rather than eliminated funding for Main Street and Elm Street. In today’s economic climate, simply said, this could have been worse.

What Can You Do Today
The budget presented yesterday was Governor Rendell’s proposal. It is not law until approved by both chambers of the General Assembly. If the last several years are any indication, this will be a long process until approval. Expect both chambers to debate this vigorously. While the budget is supposed to be passed and signed into law by the end of June, expect this to drag out through the summer. This means you will have several opportunities to advocate to your legislators on this matter. Effective advocacy, however, starts early and is a constant relationship with your legislators. PDC has prepared the following action steps to get you started in your advocacy efforts TODAY:

1. Make sure your 2008 quarterly reports are completed and submitted to PDC. PDC anticipates having to provide testimony on the impact of Main Street and Elm Street across the commonwealth. In order to do that, we are relying on YOUR reports. There are several communities that have outstanding reports that need to be submitted through the online reporting system ASAP. Not only do your reports tell the story of what is happening in your community, but they also help to create a statewide picture that tells of the true economic and community impact of Main Street and Elm Street. To help you tell this story, PDC has attached the State of the Downtown and State of the Neighborhood Summaries for 2008.

2. Contact your state representative and state senator to make an appointment (see the link below to find your elected officials). Do this now! Do not delay this step. The purpose of that appointment is to educate your representative and senator about progress being made in your community. The most important part of advocacy is education and your initial visit should be to educate about your community revitalization efforts. Use the PDC assessment to provide data and your quarterly reports to paint a picture of change in your community. Provide narrative stories of business owners and home owners who received assistance and were able to make investments as a result of Main Street and Elm Street. Main Street and Elm Street certainly do make an impact on the Pennsylvania economy. As more communities update their reports, PDC will provide updated aggregates for both the State of the Downtown Report and State of the Elm Street Report. At the latest, expect this to be provided at the manager’s meetings in March.

3. As you are finishing your appointment, your state legislator will likely ask what he or she can do to help you. In addition to any other specific needs you might have for your community, ask your state representative to preserve the budget for the New Communities Programs. Ask specifically that the funding to be preserved at the level of $17.7 million from FY 2008-2009.

4. Email geoffbrace@padowntown.org with the date of your appointment with your state representative and state senator. This will allow PDC to track which members need to be targeted most specifically.

5. Send a thank you letter to your state legislator with a reminder of the need to preserve the
budget for the New Communities Programs. Offer both yourself and PDC as a resource to help your legislator make informed decisions on this matter. Provide your contact information and contact information for Bill Fontana (billfontana@padowntown.org) or Geoff Brace (geoffbrace@padowntown.org) and the Harrisburg office (717-233-4675).
To find your legislator
Visit http://www.legis.state.pa.us/ and type your zip code in the box found in the upper right hand corner of the page.

Governor's Proposed Cuts

The Governor gave his budget address to the Pennsylvania legislature yesterday, and as expected, the news isn't good. In order to close a yawing $2.3 billion budget hole, the Governor has proposed a massive amount of cuts, totaling $400,000,000. For the whole list, click here.

The plurality of the cuts, as expected, fell on the Department of Community & Economic Development. Quite a few programs were slashed. As far as I can tell, the New Communities Program (under which Main Street funding is housed) is safe, but many many other programs were not so lucky. Below is a list of what was cut. The number next to the program indicates the amount, in thousands. All of these programs have been totally eliminated.

18 Cultural Exhibitions and Expositions $6,300
19 Base Realignment and Closure 272
20 Workforce Leadership Grants 3,010
21 Emergency Responders Resources and Training 5,500
22 Family Savings Accounts 987
23 Local Government Resources and Development 10,000
24 Tourism - Accredited Zoos 2,228
25 Community Revitalization 40,200
26 Urban Development 20,500
27 Community and Business Assistance 2,500
28 Economic Growth & Development Assistance 6,800
29 Community & Municipal Facilities Assistance 5,500
30 Market Development 100
31 Super Computer Center 900
32 Infrastructure Technical Assistance 3,926
33 Minority Business Development 3,000
34 Fay Penn 600
35 Tourist Product Development 1,974
36 Manufacturing and Business Assistance 1,000
37 PENNTAP 75
38 Agile Manufacturing 675
39 Powdered Metals 200
40 Regional Development Initiatives 13,484
41 Digital & Robotic Technology 2,000
42 Cultural Activities 3,832

Recession hits big boxes, too

Interesting article that originally appeared in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. It deals with what some have called the "second wave" of the foreclosure/recession crisis that the U.S. is currently experiencing - the retail crash. The article deals with the fact that the U.S. has been building retail space at a rate that far exceeds consumer spending. The rest, even prior to the recession, was a massive amount of empty retail space, often concentrated in central cities. Rather than attempt to rehabilitate these cities, big-box retailers and developers often found it cheaper and easier to build new, shinier strip malls and big box stores. The model had always been profitable.

Well, that is definitely about to change. This country was "overstorred" with retail space in 2003 - and now, with consumer spending hitting declining for the 6th month in a row, development slowing and available credit shrinking, big-box stores and strip malls are about to get hit. Hard. Check out the article to learn more.

Small business tips....

Our friends at the Pennsylvania Downtown Center have put out another version of their "Managers' Market Memo." This issue contains a variety of tips and suggestions for small businesses, and I thought it was worth putting up. See below for more:


During tough times, retailers and business owners hope that customers will long for the comfort of hometown shopping among people they know and trust. Customers like to feel important and valued. With this in mind, here are some things you can do to enhance that feeling and build sales during this trying economic period:
· Address customers by their names (when you know them). If you don't know their names, try something like "We haven't seen you in awhile, welcome back!" In short, let customers know you recognize them.
· Listen to your customers’ wants, ideas and criticisms.
· During staff meetings and focus groups, ask for new business building ideas and new services that can be offered.
· Remind your employees to focus on the positive. Customers don’t want to come in and hear doom and gloom or they may not return.
· Many customers may plan to scale back on their purchases, so offer more services to build on the perceived value.
· Learn customers’ preferences and respond to them. For example, ask "Do you still prefer .......?" in order to let the customer know that you remember them, and in turn help you fine tune your merchandise selection.
· Get to know your customers and potential customers as individuals. Learn something about their families, professions, interests, etc.
· Compliment and reassure customers on their purchases.
· Keep in touch with your customers via newsletters, e-mail, phone calls, events, and local paper advertisements. Now is the time to clean-up and build your contacts database. Remember, monthly e-mail newsletters don't cost a thing to distribute. Make such publications informative, and be sure to include your special events, added services, new merchandise, etc. Don't forget to include your complete contact information somewhere in the publication, including your website, complete phone number, and your business address with the city, state, and zip code.
· Get to know your local newspaper editor and help him/her work on a human interest story about you and your business. This is far better and cheaper than advertising.
· Take customers' pictures. For example, if you own a pet supply store, take photos of your customers in the store with their pets and post them on a bulletin board or on your website (with permission).

Small businesses are struggling with...

Of course, this is a difficult environment for small businesses, and the goal of the BBRP and numerous other Main and Elm Street programs across the state is to assist businesses to succeed and thrive. But, how exactly can we do that?

It's a good question, and a difficult one to answer. That being said, in order to determine how we can help small businesses, we must first figure out what specifically what is causing them problems.

Well, we are starting to try to answer that question. Thanks to some research conducted by the BBRP's new intern, Dave, as well as conversation with some of our small business owners, we are starting to get some answers. Here is what we know so far.

A survey was conducted in 2001 to answer this very question. The data is a little old, but I'd venture that many of these problems are still the same (if not exacerbated). The top ten problems are:
1) The Cost of Health Insurance
2) Federal taxes on business income
3) Locating qualified employees
4) Unreasonable government regulations
5) FICA (Social Security) taxes
6) State taxes on business income
7) Workers' Compensation Costs
8) Federal Paperwork
9) Cash Flow
10) Cost of natural gas, fuel and oil

I would also guess that properly utilizing technology (such as the internet and social networking) has become a big issues lately as well.

Allentown Modernizes Codes

The City of Allentown is in the process of modernizing their zoning and code ordinances. I am a huge fan of what they have done.

To summarize (and I'll do my best, because it is a pretty extensive document), the city is attempting to update zoning and codes because the ordinances were outdated and didn't reflect modern urban planning efforts. They had a series of community meetings to get public feedback and ensure that whatever changes they made were reflective of the community will. They also had a relatively extensive and diverse task force oversee the process. Here are some of the changes:

• The creation of three new special overlay districts that allow for more customized and practical zoning, including regulations on setbacks, parking and design guidelines.
• A series of use changes that have to deal with a variety of areas, including limiting uses within residential zones, encouragement of mixed use, requirements related to street trees, reduction of parking requirements in certain situations, etc.
• Very importantly for Allentown, this ordinance further limits the conversion of dwelling unites into apartments in most residential zones.
• Zoning map changes to be more reflective of community will.

I do believe that every community should reexamine their zoning and codes on a relatively regular basis. Like parking requirements, this is an often forgotten area that is vitally important to the quality of life and business recruitment of any community.

It's raining money?

Like everywhere else, Main Street is clearly hurting - it's something I am starting to notice in my communities and in downtowns across the Valley - businesses are closing and companies are laying off workers.

Obviously, the Government is attempting to stop the bleeding. They are doing this in a variety of ways, and President-Elect Obama is considering a massive spending bill. The House Democrats have also unveiled their own spending bill. The price: $825 billion, with $550 billion in spending and aid to states. Specifics in spending include $50 billion in alternative energy spending, $90 billion in infrastructure spending and $140 billion in school construction and modernization. The hope is that the bill will create or save 3-4 million jobs.

This bill, if it passes, will have massive ramifications on the continuing governance of the United States. Without making a value judgement, I think it is safe to say that this is a truly historical point for the U.S.

Now, that being said, here is an interesting question: how will this affect Main Street and downtowns. The infrastructure spending is desperately needed, especially in Pennsylvania, which has some of the oldest and most structurally deficient bridges in America. The jobs, if created, would obviously help get money flowing again. Of course, the consequences of the long-term debt could be astounding.

Clearly, time will tell how this affects Main Street. But it is something that all aspects of the United States government, especially urban communities, have to be aware of.

PA Promoting Energy Efficiency

I received this press release courtesy of Senator Rob Wonderling's office. Pennsylvania is trying to increase energy efficiency among small businesses, which is particularly critical, given that these businesses often lack the resources to become more energy efficient. Check out the press release below:

Small Business Energy Efficiency Grant Program Now Open
Department of Environmental Protection acting Secretary John Hanger is proud to announce an opportunity for Pennsylvania’s small businesses to improve their energy efficiency and manage higher energy prices.
The new Small Business Energy Efficiency Grant Program provides a 25 percent match, up to $25,000, for equipment or processes that significantly improve energy efficiency. The program is the first available through the Alternative Energy Investment Fund, part of Governor Edward G. Rendell's Energy Independence Strategy.

Grants will apply to energy efficiency improvements on systems such as lighting, heating, cooling, refrigeration and process machinery, as well as building insulation and weatherization improvement projects.

An eligible applicant must be an independent, for-profit business with 100 employees or fewer, located in Pennsylvania. The project must save at least 20 percent annually in energy-related expenses, with a minimum savings of $1,000 per year. Examples of eligible small businesses include manufacturers, retailers, service providers, mining businesses and agricultural operations.

The grant application and guidelines are available online at www.depweb.state.pa.us, keyword: Small Business Energy Efficiency Grant, or by contacting the Department of Environmental Protection, Office of Energy and Technology Deployment, 15th Floor, Rachel Carson State Office Building, 400 Market Street, P. O. Box 8772, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8772, or by e-mail at ra-sbgrants@state.pa.us.

Applications will be accepted through May 1, 2008. Grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. A total of $3 million is available for this grant round.

In addition to the Small Business Energy Efficiency Program, the state will unveil a number of new energy conservation programs and alternative energy investment programs in the next couple of months that will benefit the state’s power consumers at work and at home and protect the environment.

Ten things Main Street can do right now

I found this link in the E-Newsletter distributed by the Pensylvania Downtown Center and thought it was worth sharing. This story discusses ten things that revitalization groups can do, right now, in order to assist Main Streets and Downtowns weather this economic storm.

I also think that this is worth discussing because it brings up something that has become more and more prevelant in discussions that the BBRP has had lately, both at a staff and volunteer level: groups like ours have to be able to pivot and assist our businesses more now than ever before. There has, of course, never been a question that one of the most primary purposes of Main Street organizations is to assist local businesses and help the local economy grow. Of course, even before the recession, businesses were facing incredible challenges: rising expenses, increased technological innovation and competittion from big-box stores. Our current financial condition only serves to strain small businesses even more. Now, more than ever, revitalization organizations have to develop ways to help their small businesses.

More on that to come from our end!

The Importance of History

Hi everyone,

A story appeared in the Morning Call today on some of the historical buildings and historical structures that are located in Easton's West Ward. A more detailed story on the same topic appeared in the Express Times. Included in this area is one of Pennsylvania's first power plants.

That got me thinking - why do we preserve? Why should we care?

Frankly, the reasons are too numerous to get into in a short blog entry, so I'll try to keep it to bullet points.

• Historical preservation increases property values.
• Historically preserved buildings are often more energy/heat efficient than their modern counterparts.
• Districts with historical components often become tourism locations.
• Historically preserved properties provide a regionally distinctive flavor that differentiates one area of the country from the next.
• It is often less expensive to preserve and rehabilitate already existing structures than to build new ones.
• It is more environmentally sensitive to rehabilitate than to demolish and rebuild.
  
• Historical preservation is a value statement. It demonstrates that a community cares about its past, and if it cares about the past, then it almost certainly cares about the future.

Sources:

• http://news.ufl.edu/2006/12/20/preservation/
• http://www.preservationnation.org/
• http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=512&mode=2&objID=1426