To attract businesses to downtown Pottsville, the city needs to offer incentives, Pottsville City Administrator Thomas A. Palamar said Thursday.
"For example, it'd be nice to have a grant program for facade improvements," Palamar said.
Seeking options, the city and the nonprofit Pottsville Area Development Corp. are working on an application to the state Department of Community and Economic Development, Harrisburg, in an effort to become a "Keystone Community."
"This isn't a grant. It's a designation. It's a way to implement our community's vision, it's a strategic plan," Amy S. Burkhart, PADCO executive director, said Thursday.
But it can give Pottsville access to funding and Neighborhood Assistance tax credits, according to the program's website at newpa.com.
The state started the Keystone Community Designation program in November 2011, Lyndsay Frank, deputy press secretary for DCED, Harrisburg, said Friday.
To date, eight municipalities were given the designation, she said.
"I don't think anyone in Schuylkill County has it," Palamar said.
He's correct.
The eight municipalities given the designation, the dates those designations were given and the dates when they expire are as follows:
Bucks County, March 2011 to July 2018; Norristown, May 2011 to July 2018; Erie City - Little Italy Neighborhood, May 2012 to May 2017; West Reading, June 2012 to June 2017; Lawrence County Keystone Community, October 2012 to October 2017; Altoona/Logan Township Keystone Communities Enterprise Zone, July 2013 to July 2018; Downtown Reading Keystone Community, July 2013 to August 2018; and Titusville Keystone Communities Enterprise Zone, July 2013 to August 2018.
Communities can apply for these designations any time of year. There are no application deadlines, Frank said.
"We're averaging a three- to six-month time frame on the review process," Frank said.
"Designation is a special achievement that sets a community apart from other communities. A designated community has identified a specific need and developed a strategy to fulfill that need through the efforts of an organization with dedicated members possessing the organizational skills needed to raise the financial resources necessary to implement a successful program. A community achieving these milestones will be recognized and honored as one of Pennsylvania's special Keystone designations for a period of five consecutive years," according to newpa.com.
If given this designation, the city will have the opportunity to apply for a $25,000 implementation grant, Frank said.
"They must apply for it. It's not awarded with the designation," Frank said.
There may be other benefits but it depends on what type of designation the city receives, Frank said.
"The designation could put us in position to participate in other programs the state may make available to us, such as an Elm Street Program or an Enterprise Zone Program or some other grant funding that they think may help municipalities and entities like PADCO. But they want to make sure you're doing all the right things before they give you that designation," Palamar said.
In the application, Burkhart will outline the city's milestones by including a copy of a city's latest five-year plan.
The plan was developed last year, Burkhart said.
"It was put together by the city, PADCO and all of their partners," Palamar said.
According to the plan, those partners include: PADCO's executive committee, finance committee, aesthetics committee and business development committee; the City of Pottsville; the Pottsville Business Association; the Pottsville Parking Authority; Lasting Legacy of Pottsville; the Pottsville Commission on Tourism; and the Sovereign Majestic Theater.
In July, city council decided to work with PADCO to apply for a state Keystone Community designation.
Titled "The Strategic Plan and Revitalization Goals for Pottsville," it's a four-page plan.
Fill vacant storefronts, encourage business development and expansion, encourage building maintenance, repair and improvement and improve marketing and communication efforts for the downtown are among the goals.
Burkhart said she hopes to have Pottsville's application completed soon but did not have a completion date when interviewed Thursday.