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| Portland needs to clean up this cat house. |
Is it working? Have any of you in the slate belt noticed a difference?
At a news conference this morning in Bangor, local leaders will report on what has been accomplished.
This program is funded with grants from Waste Management ($50,000 per year), Merchants Bank of Bangor ($50,000 per year), ESSA Bank ($25,000 per year) and Lafayette Ambassador Bank ($5,000 in year two). These businesses receive tax credits in exchange for their contribution.
Northampton County provided $70,000 in year one and has made commitments of $112,500 for year two.
During the Executive campaign, Lamont McClure said he'd like to focus on community development in the slate belt.
19 comments:
They can't even get their act together on an animal shelter.
All of these programs have been tried before by others. Some even have been administered by LVEDC for a time before they became a strictly marketing organization, while others were run by northampton county. While they may be chiefly funded by the banks, the proof of their accomplishments will be in the end result. The slate belt has a unique ability to let petty politics derail even the most obvious good intentions. Look at UMBT and the Portland Industrial Park as an example.
At a typical visioning session some people complained about the lack of a good shoe store in the slate belt. When asked how many pair of shoes they bought in a year they all said one. How can a business survive with customers like that? U ntil enough people decide to support these activities, all we will end uop with is a few new facades, and a few small loans that probably shouldn't be approved in the first place.
I will be interested to hear what they have accomplished so far other than some signage/planting of trees and flower pots in Bangor. The boro has a dozen empty store fronts minimum and as they say..lipstick on a pig is not the answer to the poverty of the region. We need jobs!
The animal shelter is a COG initiative..not CACLV's.
As those in Portland struggle at the $85.00 per month sewer bill and the $33.00 dollar water bill.....$118.00 that is just to flush the potty....
What can they do when you have lack of vision and petty BS across the town lines. Interesting though Portland has all the infrastructure that Upper Mount Bethel Township lacks Sewer, Water, Police etc. Its time they get together as its a benefit of everyone. There are no lines when it comes to services needed and common sense.
Folks need to start working together
The Slate Belt COG is doing just that with very little fanfare. Public services are an individual governmental priority or not as they see fit. Provincialism is not just a Slate Belt issue..it exists everywhere. The region has been ignored for decades on end. Now that development and warehouses are looming..progress such as it is..has reached the regions borders..suddenly the area is up for discussion.
Regional police coverage was killed off by Pen Argyl area muni's..they did not want to deal with the region..only their little slice of it.
Perhaps UMBT doesn't want to pay for all that infrastructure, and doesn't want to bail out Portland for a very costly water/sewer boondoggle. Portland is a cautionary tale of how not to do things.
Pen Argyl is part of the Slate Belt Regional Police Force. There is no more Pen Argyl Police Department. The Mayor of Pen Argyl serves as the Chairman of the Slate Belt Regional Police Commission. It was not an easy or swift task, the process took years, to make this regional police department a reality. When seeking news coverage of local events, I need to determine whether the news source (LVL, WFMZ) considers the Slate Belt part of the Poconos, the coal region, or the Lehigh Valley. The Slate Belt needs to promote its own identity and needs to be defined as its own region. Slate Belt Rising must also recognize, promote, understand and be sensitive to, the uniqueness which defines each of the four boroughs involved. This also is not a simple nor a swift task. The process is much more complicated than I thought or what many believe. It all certainly works too slowly for my taste.
The misnamed SB regional police force only includes Pen Argyl and Wind Gap boro's and Plainfield Township. It serves only those governmental entities. Again..provincialism reigns in the SB..mistrust is abundant and grudges exist long after they should have faded away. Us and them still dominates the political discussions. There is no..WE!
Define it and to do what? Flower pots? Signs for empty run down buildings? And don't forget the school taxes that keep going up every year-
Sounds like they are just a group trying to "polish a turd".
Corporate tax credits is what this is all about. Rebranding is a corporate buzz word for..do as we say cause were spending the money! They get to pad their bank accounts and feel warm and cuddly helping the poor outcasts living in the northern tier. In a few years they will lose interest and leave and we will be right where we are now. Struggling to survive amidst the poverty and lack of real jobs.
I consider myself fairly informed about local activities and I do not see evidence of anyone really doing anything other than obtaining some grants and opening a farmer's market up. There are so many of us up here in the Slate Belt just struggling mightily to hold onto our very modest properties, let alone maintain or improve them. I'd love to patronize more local businesses, but eating out and sampling microbrews is a luxury I can't afford. A pool is something I can't patronize because I'm working more than one job. The Y's rates are out of reach for my family but yet I never qualify for "charity" because I work....vicious cycle and there are never any answers for the working poor.
Sounds like they are just a group trying to "polish a turd".
They are "polishing a turd" as you described. That "turd" is where I, and many others call home. We take pride in our home. We want to continuously improve our home. We like to invite others to our home and show them the positive and beautiful attributes within our home. We cannot change the past which effected our home. We can change the future of our home. We can change the landscape. We can fix up our home and make it even more beautiful for those who may come to visit. I choose to be a part of the process of polishing that "turd". I choose to be a part of that which can be changed. I choose to be positive about the future. It is not always easy to remain so. It is indeed a choice. There is also another reason why I am involved in this effort. To do the best I can to be a voice and make sure the funds are spent wisely. I agree that for the major funders, the tax credits lure them to contribute their money. Doing so increases their positive image within the local communities. According to the CACLV 2017 annual report, 21% of CACLV revenue comes directly from taxpayer funded sources. There needs to be a wide range of views and input into how those funds are allocated. I choose to be a part of Slate Belt Rising and play a small role in changing my community for the better. I also choose to be a part of Slate Belt Rising, which is an outreach of CACLV, to hopefully impact how the comparatively small amount of money which SBR has to work with, is utilized.
So why was Pen Argyl bypassed for Portland? Is it because Portland did not oppose the sludge drying plant? Waste Management money is what CACLV and SBR are doling out here. Pen Argyl opposed the plant so they wait while tiny Portland grabs their share. Who is Ms. Connelly working for? The boro residents or SBR and the corporate tax cheats? You can't have it both ways. You are fooling yourself if you think they care what you want or your neighbors. CACLV is corporate welfare and they will decide what you get and what you don't. None of our residents are living in turdtown. And I for one refuse to be branded by anyone especially corporate toads.
Pen Argyl and Plainfield were all in bed with handouts when Waste Management was handing money out.. how much went into the local elected officials in envelopes? Now PA wants to BOO HOO? BS..... You sold your town long ago now enjoy the sludge and the garbage your officials that were bought off for. Your town should be Pen Toxicargyl as its a waste dump now. Congrats-
You make some points but you anonymously attack a reader. You are a coward and unworthy of anyone’s attention.
2:13..agreed..those officials took the money and gave carte blanche to WM but that was years ago and water under the bridge. Not disputing the facts but gee..do the sins of the father have to be carried by his children?
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