County officials seeking public input at meetings
Fayette County officials are urging residents to speak up about what they think their communities need during a series of public meetings aimed at updating the county’s strategic plan. The first of the six planned meetings begins at 5:30 p.m. in Connellsville City Hall.
“This is an opportunity for individuals to get involved in setting the path for this community,” said Robert Junk, manager of Fayette Forward, which is leading the effort to update the plan. “It gives people the chance to be part of the solution.”
Fayette County Commissioner Vince Vicites, who co-chairs the strategic plan committee for Fayette Forward, said the county is one of the few in the state to have such a plan.
He said the plan gives the county an advantage over other counties when applying for federal or state grants because it shows that residents from all corners of the county participated in its development and support it.
“We need public input into this process,” Vicites said. “I encourage every citizen that has an interest to participate. I’m hoping for maximum participation at the meetings. Citizens can ask questions, express concerns and share ideas.”
He said the first plan was completed in 1993, revised in 1998 and is due for another five-year revision this year.
When the revision is done, it will be presented to the full panel of the county commissioners for their approval, he said.
Junk said copies will be sent to Gov. Rendell and all local legislators.
Vicites and Junk point to the 2000 Census for proof that some of the ideas gathered when the last plan was being prepared have had positive results.
Between 1990 and 2000, the county’s population increased by approximately 3,200, the number of household rose by around 3,860, the number of people over 25 years old with high school diplomas increased 8 percent, the annual unemployment rate decreased by 2.2 percent and the number of people living below the poverty level decreased by 4,000.
With an eye toward today’s meeting in Connellsville, Junk said the Youghiogheny River water supply might come up.
Vicites said a water conservation study will be done before the North Fayette County Municipal Authority’s current permit to pump water from the river expires in 2007 to determine how much water the county will need for the next 50 years.
Junk said the county needs access to enough water for agriculture, which is the county’s largest industry, manufacturing and tourism and recreation.
The rest of the meeting schedule includes:
??Thursday at 10 a.m. in the Eberly Building at Penn State Fayette Campus.
??Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the Farmington Volunteer Fire Hall.
??April 1 at 1 p.m. at the State Theatre Center for the Arts in Uniontown.
??April 1 at 5:30 p.m. in the Masontown fire hall.
??April 3 at 5:30 p.m. in Brownsville’s North Side Fire Hall.